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French media giant Banijay Group is working on plans for a takeover offer for ITV or its studio arm to bring together two of Europe’s largest TV production groups, according to two people familiar with the situation.
Banijay has held early talks with the British media group, the people said, whose studio arm has attracted interest from a range of investment groups such as RedBird IMI, which owns rival All3Media, as well as private equity funds.
ITV’s share price has risen by a tenth this year given the talk around a potential deal for its studio arm, valuing the group at just over £3bn. Analysts say the studios arm could be worth that on its own, however, setting little value on a broadcasting business that includes a linear and streaming service in the UK.
Options that have been explored by Banijay include an offer for ITV’s studio business or the full takeover of ITV. The latter would be likely to mean Banijay would seek to bring in third-party investors, according to one person close to the situation.
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, one person familiar with the situation said.
The combination of Banijay and ITV Studios would make strategic sense given their strengths in scripted and unscripted TV production, with both making shows for the big broadcasters and US streamers. The combination would offer negotiating power given that many streamers and broadcasters are seeking to curtail expenditure.
ITV makes shows such as Love Island — which it also broadcasts in the UK — and Rivals for Disney, while Banijay produces successful programmes such as 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, such as Like Water for Chocolate for HBO’s Max, and Supersex, La Vita che Volevi and The Law According to Lidia Poët for Netflix in Italy.
ITV has held separate, early talks with RedBird IMI, the Abu Dhabi-backed investment group that last year acquired UK rival All3Media. ITV itself has also 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, according to people familiar with the situation.
Banijay and ITV declined to comment.
