United Kingdom: French company Banijay interested in acquiring private free-to-air group ITV (press)

French production and distribution company Banijay Group is said to be in "preliminary discussions" with ITV about buying the private British free-to-air television group, according to The Financial Times on 27/04/2025.

Banijay Group is said to be interested in acquiring the entire group or just its production arm ITV Studios, according to the British daily. ITV reported revenues of £4.14bn (€4.99bn) and EBITA of £542m (€653m) during the 2024 financial year. Liberty Global (USA, 10.19%), RWC Asset Management (UK, 6.1%) and Brandes Investment Partners (USA, 5.65%) are among the UK group's shareholders. The latter is also said to be in talks with the RedBird IMI fund (a joint venture between RedBird Capital Partners and the UAE company International Media Investments) about a possible takeover, according to The Financial Times.

ITV holds the broadcasting rights in the UK for the Guinness Six Nations (10 matches per tournament until 2029), the 2026 and 2030 FIFA World Cups (co-broadcast with the BBC), English national team matches (men's until 2028, women's until 2029) and the Carabao…