Producer of Peaky Blinders and Big Brother ‘drafts bid’ for ITV
The French entertainment business behind Peaky Blinders, Banijay Group, is reportedly drawing up plans for a takeover offer for ITV or its studio arm.The group, which has also produced Big Brother, has held early talks with ITV about buying the whole business or just its studio production division, according to reports.ITV Studios is one of the world’s biggest production companies, making shows for the UK commercial public broadcaster as well as selling content to other platforms such as the BBC and Netflix.It produced Disney’s Rivals, Netflix’s thriller Fool Me Once and the BBC’s Showtrial.There has been persistent speculation about the possible sale of ITV Studios.
Shares in ITV have risen by about 10% this year amid chatter about a possible deal,Some City analysts have argued the studios business could be worth more than all of ITV’s current £3bn market value,A full takeover of ITV would probably mean that Banijay would look for third-party investors to support the deal, according to the Financial Times,The discussions with ITV are at a very early stage with no guarantee that it will progress to any deal, according to its sources,ITV has also reportedly held separate talks with RedBird IMI, an Abu-Dhabi backed venture that recently acquired All3Media, the producer behind the hit TV show Traitors, for £1.
2bn.ITV considered an acquisition of All3Media in 2023, judging that it would be a good fit with its studio business, but it was ultimately outbid by Redbird IMI.Earlier this year, there were reports that ITV and RedBird IMI had discussed merging ITV Studios and All3Media.A deal would create one of the biggest production companies in Europe.Profits at ITV jumped last year, buoyed up by record earnings at the production arm.
While revenue at the FTSE 250 company slipped by 3% to £4.1bn in 2024 compared with the previous year, adjusted profits rose by 11% to £542m.Dame Carolyn McCall, the chief executive of ITV, is under pressure to increase revenues and the company’s share price.The traditional TV part of the business, where programmes are broadcast at set times, has been hit by a slowdown in advertising and as viewers shift to online streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+.Analysts at Bernstein believe a takeover of ITV as a whole is an “unlikely scenario”, with the best bet a deal involving ITV’s production assets outside the UK.
“We see little commercial logic to a combination of ITV’s broadcasting business with any overseas broadcaster or production company,” said Simon Baker, in a note on Monday.“[However], a spin off of ITV Studios’ non-UK business could crystallise value and offer the prospect of synergies being unlocked.”A deal to acquire ITV Studios would at a stroke hugely reduce Banijay’s large dependence on non-scripted shows.Banijay was founded in 2008.Seven years later it merged with Zodiak, owner of UK producers including the Faking It maker RDF.
Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionIn 2019, Banijay struck a $2.2bn (£1.6bn) deal to buy Endemol Shine Group, the maker of shows including MasterChef, Big Brother and Black Mirror, to create the largest TV producer outside the US.Its parent company, Banijay Group, is listed in Amsterdam and has a market capitalisation of €3.6bn (£3.
1bn).Earlier this year, Patrick Holland, the executive chair of Banijay UK, discussed the difficulties British broadcasters are facing in funding premium drama productions in the era of deep-pocketed streamers such as Netflix.“There is a reset going on rather than a catastrophe,” he told the Guardian.“It is definitely the case that there is a huge amount of pressure in commissioning and the costs are very high.Drama costs have risen exponentially.
“I am ever the optimist.We have got to try and reset and work out a way to build slates that are sustainable, rather than one show that costs a fortune, making it impossible to see other shows through.”ITV shares fell by 3% on Monday.ITV declined to comment.Banijay and RedBird IMI were approached for comment.
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