UTV Media sells television assets for €135m

UTV Media has confirmed the sale of its television assets to ITV for £100m (€135m).

On August 24th, and in response to media speculation, the board of the company confirmed it was in discussions regarding a potential sale of its television assets.

These discussions led to a further announcement on October 19th that UTV had entered into a conditional agreement to sell its television assets to ITV Broadcasting Limited (ITV) for a cash consideration of £100m.

In a statement to the stock exchange, UTV said the uncertainty “created by the speculation around these discussions and the time to completion of the agreement has had, and is continuing to have, a negative impact upon trading within our Irish television business”.

As a result, the board anticipates losses for the business for the full year will be approximately £13m. Trading within its Northern Irish television business and its radio division was said to be “broadly in line with the board’s expectations”.