Shares digital

ITV (ITV) 78.2p

The shares of the broadcaster jumped 4% on talk of a £3 billion private equity takeover. (Read the full story: www.sharesmagazine.com/node/3126)

Shares says: Takeover talk has been around for some time but continued share price weakness could prompt an opportunistic bid. Without an approach, weak advertising markets could restrain any share price recovery. HOLD

The Guardian says: ITV has been such a poor performer recently, it is almost inevitable it would be attracting predators.

Daily Mail says: ITV is trading near all-time lows, so anyone interested in launching a bid knows exactly where to go to get a strategic 10% or so shareholding before going for the jugular.

The City - Bear Stearns says: A private equity bid at the rumoured 100p a share appears too aggressive. The forced sale of a part of BSkyB’s stake and Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo may lend support to ITV’s share price in the near term.