The pair are in discussions with Chrysalis Group to buy its television division, which owns the production companies Cactus Television, Bentley Productions and Chrysalis Television, and makes programmes including Channel 4's 'Richard & Judy', ITV's Formula One Grand Prix coverage, 'Midsomer Murders' and the 'British Soap Awards'.
Along with Morrison and Liddiment, the management buy-in group also includes Jules Burns, formerly managing director of operations at Granada, and is being backed by an unnamed funding partner. The division is thought to be worth between £38m and £45m.
News of the deal helped boost shares in Chrysalis this morning, which were up by 7.99% this morning, trading at £2.04, an increase of 14.5p.
In a statement issued this morning, Chrysalis said: "The proposal is subject to final due diligence and the agreement of satisfactory terms, but has the support of both debt and equity providers."
The deal comes at a high point for the independent television production sector, which has been boosted by the rise in TV channels created by digital television.
The BBC has been ordered by Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary, to use and foster home-grown talent and the independent production sector with its youth digital channel BBC Three, and the corporation recently appointed Elaine Bedell specifically to liaise with independents.
Bedell sold her own independent television production company, Watchmaker Productions, to Chrysalis in 1998.
Morrison left Granada in September 2002 after the ITV Digital fiasco and was described at the time as a scapegoat for the disaster. However, his decision to go may have been influenced by the fact that there would have been no place for him in the senior management line-up at a merged ITV, with the top jobs going to Carlton's Michael Green and his former Granada boss Charles Allen.
Morrison joined Granada in 1974 as a journalist on 'World in Action'. In 1996, he was made chief executive of Granada Media Group, overseeing Granada's television interests. He has also achieved some acclaim as a producer on films such as 'My Left Foot' and 'Jack & Sarah'.
Liddiment announced in July 2002 that he was to quit his job at ITV, after five years during which he commissioned programmes including 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?', 'Popstars', 'Pop Idol', 'Bad Girls', 'At Home with the Braithwaites' and 'Cold Feet'. He was replaced at ITV by CBBC controller Nigel Pickard.
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