According to The Mail on Sunday, Apax is understood to be in fresh talks with ITV and is looking to partner with other private equity companies to make a renewed offer to the company.
Apax made an approach to ITV in 2005 with the backing of investment bank Goldman Sachs and US media giant Time Warner. It then returned in early 2006 with Goldman Sachs and another private equity firm, Blackstone.
The second bid, which was led by Apax adviser and former BBC director-general Greg Dyke, was eventually rejected by the ITV board.
Since then, ITV has stabilised itself after parting company with chief executive Charles Allen and brought in Michael Grade, Dyke's successor at the BBC, as executive chairman.
BSkyB joined the ITV share register in November with the surprise acquisition of a 17.9% stake, which the Competition Commission may require it to dispose of, having ruled it restricts competition in the TV sector.
Despite a revival in its viewing figures, ITV's share price has dropped from a high of 120.9p a share in May to 96.2p on Friday. This morning it rose 2.39% to 98.5p.
ITV is currently pushing its drama schedule, which includes World War I drama 'My Boy Jack' and an adaptation of EM Forster's 'A Room with a View'.
Apax, meanwhile, has teamed up with the publisher of The Guardian newspaper to make a joint £1.2bn bid for Emap's business publishing division.
The offer made it through to the second round of the auction earlier this month and would, if successful, include the pair taking over titles such as Retail Week and the Local Government Chronicle.
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