Media heavyweights, Lord Clive Hollick, Stephen Grabiner and Greg Dyke may launch a £6 billion bid for broadcaster ITV, according to industry reports. The three work for private equity houses and are rumoured to have held talks, discussing the possibility of forming an alliance to fund a bid for the commercial giant.
Last week it was announced that Lord Hollick, the outgoing chief executive of United Business Media UBM, was assuming a high profile position at US private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) (see
Hollick Talks Takeovers In New Role At KKR). On his appointment, Hollick said about buying back ITV ‘it would have a nice ring to it, I wouldn’t rule anything out.’ The labour peer used to own the Anglia and Meridian franchises before selling them to Granada in 2000.
Last week analysts dismissed the idea of Hollick raising the funds to make to the bid with KKR alone, but recent speculation has raised the possibility of bringing in former director-general of the BBC, Dyke, and Grabiner, ex-managing director for the The Daily Telegraph, to form a consortium bid.
Dyke and Grabiner both advise venture capitalist firm Apax and sources say that Hollick has already taken informal soundings from Apax. Although the project is only at the evaluation stage, it is thought that more talks between the two firms are planned in the following weeks.
A note from broker Investec last week said: “We continue to view the possibility of a bid for ITV as providing good support (for the stock price). With the cost base far more efficient after the merger savings (Carlton and Granda merger a year ago)…we reiterate our 145p share price target”, according to a report in Sunday’s Observer.
This morning it was announced that UBM is planning to offload its market research company, NOP World for around £250 million, according to a report in the Mail on Sunday. Hollick is said to be determined to dispose of the political polling business before he relinquishes his position to David Levin in April.
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