ITV Plc said it’s actively exploring a takeover of All3Media Holdings Ltd., the British TV producer that’s co-owned by Liberty Global Plc and Warner Bros Discovery Inc.
(Bloomberg) — ITV Plc said it’s actively exploring a takeover of All3Media Holdings Ltd., the British TV producer that’s co-owned by Liberty Global Plc and Warner Bros Discovery Inc.
There’s no certainty a deal will take place or on what terms if it does, ITV said in a statement on Friday in response to media reports about a potential sale.
A spokesman for All3Media declined to comment.
All3Media could be valued at more than £1 billion ($1.3 billion) in a deal, according to a person familiar with the discussions who asked not to be named because the talks are private.
ITV shares fell 1.7% to 68.88 pence in London on Friday.
Some of All3Media’s popular shows, such as Midsomer Murders, are already broadcast on ITV.
Its holding company DLG Acquisitions reported earnings of £83.7 million before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, on revenue of £867 million, for the year ended 31 Dec 2021
That puts it at just under half the size of ITV Studios’ 2022 revenue, meaning a deal would reshape ITV and rapidly accelerate its transformation from a traditional, ad-funded free-to-air broadcaster into a studio-heavy business.
All3Media Chief Executive Officer Jane Turton was previously an ITV studio executive.
Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Conor O’Shea said ITV could pay in cash as it only has a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.4 times.
“If the deal is sensibly priced, it can also bring into sharper focus the current valuation anomaly, whereby the value of ITV Studios alone — circa £3 billion — accounts for virtually the entire enterprise value of ITV,” he wrote in a note to clients.
Billionaire deal-maker John Malone sits behind the potential transaction.
He chairs the board of Liberty Global and has a large share of voting stock, while also sitting on the board and owning shares of Warner Bros. Discovery. Malone’s Liberty Global in turn owns 9.9% of ITV.
(Updates with context throughout, shares in 4th paragraph.)
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