Well three weeeks r&r in the far east and come back to no takeover news or even further chapters of ripping yarns and goldfingers deal done but not dusted best seller ;-)
If Starmer wants to see how to build a secure and safe country with a booming economy he needs to head off over to Singapore to see how the professionals do it. Failing that resign and let somebody else sort this embarrasing farce in the UK out !!! |
redbird in the wings |
At this point of time ITV, is at a pivotal stage, and any decisions taken now can have unintended consequencies, like the buying of One3media, which turned out to be fruitless, and now Redbird are trying to offload to some other sucker.
Let's imagine you are running ITV, would you get involved with any party at this time of major change in the entertainment business? NO, because steady as she goes, is in my opinion the best option.(Which the Labour party should heed)
As soon as 51% of shareholders agree to take ITV "private", there will be 100p on the table, which is reasonable in my opinion.
It's bad enough to convince 51% to agree, but nearly impossible after any "merger". |
ITV have a Euro 360m bond due September 2026 @ 1.375%. And a Euro 500m bond due June 2032 at 4.25%. A total of Euro 850m (£716m) at an average coupon of 3.05%. That's their gross debt. It is not onerous.
I think there are definite concerns about the advertising outlook and even the production side in the near term. But to assign zero value to linear/ITVX is silly. |
I doubt idiot even knows how to short a share. He's most likely one of those sad posters who hasn't much money to invest so slags off stocks because he wants to see investors lose money because he can't make any himself.
spud |
Idiot has a short position vs ITV.
DYOR. |
Butler is right, idiot. You can watch programmes on these streaming channels at anytime you want so they're not going up against each other. 🙄
spud |
The advertisers will go where the viewers go !
Simples. |
thebutler. Of course they are in competition with Netflix....for the viewers ! |
Yes, that is the case.
Net debt H1 2023 was £724m
Net debt H1 2024 was £515m
This is taking into account the proceeds of the sale of Britbox.
As buybacks increase net debt will head back up towards the £700m again.
As you say not a problem but it'll be the headline on FY results day come next month if the markets decide they want to paint a negative picture of those results. |
I think we're all in agreement that American Idiot hasn't a clue what he's talking about. Indeed net debt is fairly low with a gearing ratio of less than 25%.
And to claim there's not a lot of value in ITVX is absurd. They're not in competition with the likes of Neflix, they're very much operating alongside them. The last time I looked I could watch both ITVX and Neflix, they're not mutually exclusive, so maybe Idiot hasn't mastered his TV remote yet? |
Wsb…I would think the proceeds from Britbox would have been calculated to the balance sheet upon completion (On the set of results that followed completion) and then X amount deducted once spent on the buy backs would show in future accounting periods.
It’s hard to type on a smartphone and haven’t the time to read previous sets of accounts to see if this happened. |
Hey AI, why do you say ‘ Net debt to rise as ITV spend the £235m proceeds from the 50% disposal of Britbox on share buy backs
?
There is no relationship between these 2 things yeah?
The buyback is fully funded by the sale proceeds of britbox- no debt increase.
And itv has a great debt to asset ratio - their net debt is in a falling arc as can be seen on sites that track this over time.
Debt is NOT a concern here.
Classic case of diamond hands required I think if multiple co’s want a piece of this pie - let it play out before taking the first offer
To the Moon!
Hans |
 What a crazy post from loginname.
The current market cap of ITV is £2.81b
The markets hold the view that the linear TV side of ITV is pretty much worthless (Its in decline and that decline is gathering pace all the time)
ITVX is still very much in the early stages of growth. Given time this could be very valuable but considering the streamers they are competing with (Netflix, Disney, Amazon etc) theres probably not a lot of value given to ITVX at present given it's going to take continued investment to get there.
The value in ITV is the studios. It's value is probably around £2.2B (I'm lazy so £2.2B will do for me right now)
Any takeover for the whole of ITV would have to be at a premium to the current share price to entice the large investors to put a deal through. Nobody wants the linear part of ITV because its in decline and this is where the problems lie. (Every single takeover article mentions studios but never the linear side!)
Then you have ITV Studios tied at the hip to ITV.
In the 6 months to June 2024 ITV studios total revenue was £869m. £301m of that was sales to ITV Media and entertainment with just £568m external revenue.
I've read reports recently of production costs soaring and ad revenues collapsing. I don't believe ad revenues are totally collapsing but I do think the combination of the above will ensure overall revenues are under pressure in H1 2025 as UK PLC tightens its reins in response to the payroll tax increases (Which start in April) forced on business by this terrible labour government.
You can see ITV are cutting costs further (Only last week it was in the news of cuts to the main soap characters on both Corrie and Emmerdale)
Any potential merger could be like Vodafone and Three.
Not a merger of strength but a merger of weakness as both production companies struggle to control costs and maintain growth in the face of US streamers and their far higher budgets as well as an uncertain economic backdrop. Cost synergies will be the main benefit but any merger won't come at a premium to its book value.
Net debt to rise as ITV spend the £235m proceeds from the 50% disposal of Britbox on share buy backs (Although debt isnt a problem here its gonna headline in the next set of results)
2025 - No Euros footy, no world cup footy, no mens rugby world cup either.
It's gonna be just a very ordinary year at best for ITV.
GLA. |
Goldfinger have you any news ? Thank you in advance |
Net - “ But what would ITVx / ITV be worth without its studios?”
But it wouldn’t be without it would it? Financially at least.
If ITV Studios was no longer ‘legally’; part of ITV Group plc by way of being part of a new separate legal entity - ITV Group plc would still own a share of it (50%, 60% who knows).
It is this asset / investment that maintains (or increases we hope) the value of ITV Group overall.
A separate stock market listing of “ITVSA3M plc” (you heard it here first!) with a market cap of eg £4bn (???) would instantly give ITV Group an asset on the balance sheet of eg £2bn - £2.4bn This ITVS value realisation has not been achieved before. This simplistic guestimate spread over the 3.8bn ITV.L shares in issue would mean anything from eg 52p to 64p per share realised.
Or looking at it another way to takeout ITV Group BEFORE this happens would require Friday’s 74p + 52p to 64p or £1.26 to £1.38 a share.
“ITVSA3M plc” (!) could be valued at less than £4bn - so repeat with your own guesstimate. :)
“BANITV plc” (!) could still spoil the party with a higher bid for the whole ITV Group.
Pick a side then ITVSA3M or BANITV. |
Hollywood is running out of original film plots, and studios production of 30 to 60 minutes, are no exception. I prefer to see original films from all over the world, instead of rehashed plots and sequels.
With ITV, having their own studios, costs can be adjusted as necessary. If the studios are sold then ITV, does not control their destiny, someone else does.
In any case the best solution in my opinion, for the UK entertainment industry, is a merger between, ITV, BBC, CHA4, and CHA5, to help keep jobs here in the UK, and be a strong contender for Hollywood, and other paid for subscription streamers. |
netcurtains. I expect our two largest shareholders - Liberty Global and Silchester - have strong views on dismemberment of the business. I still think it likely ITV are exploring the merger avenue to flush out interest for the whole business. But an auction of the Studios business with multiple interested parties could see a very good price achieved and well above the current market cap of the whole business. |
But want would ITVx / ITV be worth without its studios? Just another channel 4.
I cant see how this will work... Once we get the "dividend" ITV share price will collapse and we'll be no better off..
Surely the price has to be for the whole group
OR
the price for the studios has to match the current price of ITV as a whole ( more or less). |
The FT has to be the most respected news source joining the story so far.
At this point I would suggest ITV Studios is firmly in play and the chance of Banijay trying to scupper a deal with All3Media is high - otherwise Banijay would drop to 2nd place in terms of European production revenue size (as per Deadline article table).
If ITVS and A3M merge - the combined #1 production entity would probably be too big for Banijay to buy it - so this is potentially their last chance to stay on top. |
Thanks loginname!
Yes, the headline gave the impression there was more to the story. |
For a little Sunday breakfast reading - here’s the inside story of the sale of All3Media and Banijays failure to secure it. |
Huckers - not much new apart from “Banijay are monitoring the situation!” - exactly what is required for a strategically blocking counter-action :)
ITV investors back M&A talks as rivals circle
London-listed broadcaster could sell studio arm to unleash value
Major shareholders in ITV support management efforts to explore a potential deal for its production arm, with rival studios and private equity now circling one of Europe’s largest TV studios.
ITV has held early talks with RedBird IMI, the Abu Dhabi-backed investment group that last year acquired UK rival All3Media for more than £1.1bn, according to several people familiar with the situation.
A merger of ITV Studios with All3Media could create a production group worth more than £3bn, bringing together the UK studios responsible for shows from Love Island to Traitors and Rivals, and giving negotiating power at a time when many streamers and broadcasters are tightening their budgets.
While the two sides had held conversations, the people added, these were at an early stage with no certainty of any progression or deal. RedBird IMI — whose New York-based boss, Jeff Zucker, was in London in late January — is the Abu Dhabi-backed investment vehicle that the UK government blocked last year from owning the Daily Telegraph.
Meanwhile, a number of other potential suitors are looking at ITV Studios, the people said, including private equity groups CVC and Blackstone. Rivals such as Banijay, one of Europe’s largest production groups, were also monitoring the situation, two people said.
Blackstone, CVC and Banijay all declined to comment. |
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