French media giant Banijay Group, the owner of labels including Manchester’s Workerbee and Glasgow’s IWC Media, is working on plans for a takeover offer for ITV’s studio arm, or possibly the whole company, a deal which would bring together two of Europe’s largest TV production groups, according to reports in the Financial Times over the weekend.
Quoting “two people familiar with the situation” the FT said the French giant has already held early talks with the British media group, which has also has attracted interest from a range of investment groups such as RedBird IMI, the US-UAE firm that made an unsuccessful bid for the Telegraph and last year took over Lime Pictures and Wise Owl parent All3Media.
ITV’s share price has risen around 10% this year amidst talk around a deal for its studio arm, valuing the group at just over £3bn.
Options that have been explored by Banijay, according to the FT, include an offer for the studio business alone, or the full takeover of ITV. The latter would be likely to mean Banijay would seek to bring in third-party investors, according to the sources.
READ MORE: 700k-follower Sunday League highlights acquisition for Planet Sport
The ITV discussions are at a very early stage, with no guarantee that they will progress to a deal for either the media group or its studio business, the report added.
ITV makes shows such as Love Island — which it also broadcasts to the UK market — and Rivals for Disney, while Banijay produces shows like Peaky Blinders and Big Brother.
Banijay Entertainment, the French production and distribution company, is owned by Banijay Group, which is based and listed in Amsterdam. Banijay Group, controlled by French entrepreneur Stéphane Courbit, also makes a large number of non-English-language titles for other markets.
ITV has also held separate, early talks with Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI, and has also reportedly explored various combinations for rival businesses, including a potential offer for All3Media last year.
Liberty Global, ITV’s largest shareholder with about a tenth of its shares, supports the management looking at options for the business, the FT reports, although neither Banijay nor ITV have commented as yet.
