UK commercial broadcaster ITV has earmarked £600 million worth of non-core businesses to sell off, including its 5% share in French multimedia company, Thomson SA.
According to a report in the Sunday Independent, ITV plans to sell numerous assets from Carlton Screen Advertising, which sells adverts shown at cinemas, to stakes in top Premier League football teams Arsenal and Liverpool.
A senior ITV source told the newspaper: “Some of these operations need to be a bit more intensively managed before they can be sold off.”
The jewel in the crown is the group’s stake in Thomson, which is estimated to sell for £185 million.
Bidding negotiations are already underway; last month non-fiction book publisher, Carlton Publications, was first to be put under the hammer, along with the Moving Picture Company, which created visual effects for blockbuster movies such as Harry Potter and Tomb Raider (see ITV Publishing And Movie Businesses For Sale).
ITV will be hoping that the sale of these businesses help fund a £100 million revenue shortfall that was the result of advertisers negotiating more competitive deals.
Last month, chief executive, Charles Allan announced that the group’s multi-channel revenue target for the next three years has been set at £150 million (see ITV Revenues Up As Next Three Year Targets Unveiled).
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