Virgin Media owner Liberty Global has acquired BSkyB’s 6.4% stake in ITV for £481m.
ITV’s share price rose 7% to 196p in early trading as investors enthusiastically greeted the move as a signal that the UK’s largest free-to-air commercial broadcaster is likely to be snapped up.
BSkyB swooped to take a 17.9% stake in ITV for £940m in 2006 as a blocking move to stop the threat of a takeover by NTL, which later merged with Telewest to create Virgin Media.
Now John Malone’s cable giant Liberty Global, which snapped up Virgin Media last year for £15bn, has renewed the prospect of a takeover.
Liberty Global chief executive Mike Fries said: “This is an opportunistic and attractive investment for us in our largest cable market. ITV is the leading commercial broadcaster in the UK and we’re excited to be shareholders.”
The company said that it does not intend to make an offer to buy ITV outright, but it does reserve the right to do so within the next six months.
ITV’s recovery has seen its market capitalisation surge to a pricey £8bn, but increased activity by US media giants in the UK has not dampened speculation that ITV is a target.
© 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.