ITV on Friday said it is no longer actively exploring the possible acquisition of All3Media, in a u-turn worth more than a reported £1 billion.

‘A month after saying it was looking at buying Gogglebox maker All3Media, ITV has done a U-turn and said the deal is not happening. This comes a day after reports that All3Media customer Channel 4 was unhappy about the potential acquisition by ITV, saying it would harm competition in the market,’ said AJ Bell’s Danni Hewson.

Responding to a story by Reuters on Friday, the London-based television broadcaster and content producer said it continues to monitor the potential acquisition, but noted that it assesses all possible mergers and acquisitions against ‘strict’ financial criteria, and its capital allocation framework.

https://www.reuters.com/article/all3media-ma-itv/update-1-itv-no-longer-actively-exploring-all3media-deal-idINL8N39013D

All3Media is a TV, film and digital production company based in London and jointly owned by Warner Bros Discovery Inc and Liberty Global PLC. The firm produces shows including Fleabag and Midsomer Murders.

Last month, ITV said it was actively exploring a possible acquisition, but said there was no certainty a transaction would take place.

Reuters previously had reported that All3Media could fetch more than £1 billion.

‘While there was clear strategic logic in owning the business, as it would help to beef up ITV’s production and content capabilities, perhaps the broadcaster thought it would be too complicated a deal to get past the competition authorities,’ Hewson said.

‘With the prospect of a downturn in advertising on the horizon, ITV’s management already has enough on its plate without the distractions of trying to push through a big acquisition.’

ITV shares were down 0.5% to 68.44 pence each on Friday afternoon in London. In the year-to-date the stock has lost 12%.

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