Channel 5 Takeover - Bloomberg.com: Desmond’s Northern & Shell Gets ‘Number of Bids’ for Channel 5

Story from Bloomberg:

Richard Desmond’s Northern & Shell said it received a number of bids for Channel 5 and will evaluate them with advisers in the coming days.
“Certainly no deal has been done,” spokeswoman Mimi Turner said in an e-mail response to questions today.

Broadcast magazine earlier reported that Sky and Discovery were close to jointly buying the channel for £350 million.

Both companies declined to comment on the matter.

Desmond initially sought more than £700 million for Channel 5, people familiar with the plan said in January.

Desmond, who bought the station from RTL in 2010 for £103.5 million, is seeking to cash in on a growing demand for TV assets.

Channel 5 reaches about half of the U.K. audience each week, according to data from the Broadcasters Audience Research Board.