A new report today in The Guardian newspaper says that leading investors in the two broadcasters want Michael Green at Carlton and Charles Allen at Granada to walk away from a merged single ITV company. At the very least, investors want one of the men to go.
The two are held responsible by investors for the collapse of ITV Digital, the digital terrestrial television service that went under with losses of £1bn.
There is concern among investors that the two dominant and contrasting personalities will not be able to work together as chairman and chief executive respectively.
Signs of shareholder unrest first surfaced in October when Carlton and Granada announced the top management line-up after revealing that they were in advanced talks.
According to The Guardian, one investor said: "We are always being criticised for not taking pre-emptive action to avoid problems. That is exactly what we are trying to do in this case. Now we understand they are suggesting they will abandon the deal rather than give up their positions."
It is unlikely that either Green or Allen will step down and give up their jobs. Whether they would call off the merger rather than stand down is impossible to tell.
The latest disquiet seems to suggest that efforts to placate investors with the appointment of heavyweight outside directors has been unsuccessful. Granada named James Crosby, the chief executive of one of the UK's largest banks HBOS, as a non-executive director in late November. Granada also appointed the former 3i chairman, Sir George Russell, to its board as non-executive deputy chairman.
Prior to the management line-up of a merged ITV being announced, the speculation was that Green would retire, as it was unlikely that he and Allen could work closely together.
At both Carlton and Granada, the number two executives have already gone. In August last year, Granada's chief executive Steve Morrison stepped down, followed by the departure to Kingfisher of Gerry Murphy, the Carlton chief executive.
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