LONDON (Brand Republic) – Shareholders in ITN, the independent broadcast news provider, are expected to meet later this month to discuss whether to continue with plans to float the business.
Shareholders are slated to meet on January 24 when they will also consider the possibility of renewing its five-year contract to supply ITV with news early, ahead of approaching potential investors.
The ITV deal accounts for 45% of ITN’s revenues and runs out at the end of 2002. ITN announced yesterday that it has extended its contract to supply Channel 4 with news by a further two-and-a-half years. Its agreement with Channel 5 was renewed last year.
ITN’s flotation had been mooted by its two largest shareholders, ITV companies Granada Media and Carlton, earlier in the year. However, it was shelved while the two companies bought and sold a number of franchises following the fall-out from the Carlton and United News & Media merger, which resulted in United selling its ITV assets to Granada.
Carlton and Granada have announced plans to work more closely together and could increase their stakes in ITN after the government proposed to relax media ownership rules that would allow them to increase their 20% stakes in the news station.
ITN’s other shareholders are Daily Mail & General Trust, Reuters Group and United Business Media -- the renamed United News & Media.
ITN has been valued at £300m. It has annual revenues of around £100m and profits of about £10m.
In August last year, it became the third UK news organisation to launch a 24-hour cable news network with its ITN News Channel, which competes directly with BBC News 24 and Sky News.