Channel 5 Takeover - Guardian Media: BT executive: 'count us out' of Channel 5 bid

A senior BT executive has questioned the strategic value and £700m price tag for Richard Desmond's Channel 5, effectively ruling out the telecoms giant as a serious bidder for the broadcaster.
Bidders will have to "put up or shut up" with full, binding bids by 14 April, with Discovery and UKTV co-owner Scripps mooted as interested parties.

Until the bids are officially submitted there is no definitive way of knowing if Petter's comments are not potentially part of a bid tactic to publicly put pressure on Desmond and his bankers, Barclays, over price.

BT's apparent lack of appetite for the broadcaster will be a blow to Desmond, who acquired the business for just £103.5m almost four years ago.