Virgin Media seek talks with ITV again
 

Virgin Media are seeking talks with ITV again. Will they never learn!!!!!


http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle1356266.ece

Re: Virgin Media seek talks with ITV again
 

I'm sure it will good if Virgin Media can merge with ITV though.

Re: Virgin Media seek talks with ITV again
 

The article is really meant to be about a content deal with ITV, not a takeover.

While Murdoch owns a stake "the poison pill" in ITV, VM will never make a bid for it. The article made me laugh. As always the lazy journalists make huge errors in their articles. The article said that VM can't make a new offer for ITV until after six months after its initial one. (regulations et all) Which is a bit odd considering ntl never made a bid for ITV in the first place!

Re: Virgin Media seek talks with ITV again
 

wasent it that ntl were interested in making a bid ? tbh i didnt read much on it

Re: Virgin Media seek talks with ITV again
 

They did - they made an offer of £4.7 Billion, which ITV rejected claiming it had 'materially undervalued' their company. However, the rejection followed BSkyB’s purchase of a 17.9% stake in ITV. (About £940 Million worth of ITV shares).

Re: Virgin Media seek talks with ITV again
 

That's right, ntl made a proposal to bid for ITV, which ITV rejected. Ntl never actually made a bid for ITV though. Bit like saying to your best mate, "I propose to give you £50 for your old computer." Is not the same as saying, "I'm giving you £50 for your old computer.":)No, it wasn't a bid. It was a proposal. A proposal is not the same as a bid.

Here is a link to ITV's rejection of the proposal:

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article...1211155474339M

Re: Virgin Media seek talks with ITV again
 

If you are proposing an amount to buy something, you are suggesting an offer and you are making that offer. Which is still a bid. ntl made a bid and it was rejected - so the article appears to be correct when it says.. VM can't make a new offer for ITV until after six months after its initial one.

Re: Virgin Media seek talks with ITV again
 

OK, let me put it another way....ebay.

If you propose to make a bid of £50 for a computer on ebay, is that the same as making a bid of £50 for the computer? Think about it. There's a difference - a big one!

You said it yourself...ntl were "suggesting" a bid for ITV. They never actually made one.

Re: Virgin Media seek talks with ITV again
 

but even if they did make a bid, virgin media has never bid for ITV, so surely they could bid if they wanted to now?

Re: Virgin Media seek talks with ITV again
 

Virgin is just a new label for ntl:telewest. It's the same company. But VM could make a bid now if it wanted, but why would it when Murdoch went ahead and bought the ITV shares. Murdoch=action, ntl=suggestion. A big difference.

Re: Virgin Media seek talks with ITV again
 

ntl still made an offer regardless if it was a proposal. It's even more so the case when the other party, to which an offer is being made, is able to *reject* it. Turn it down. We are purely discussing semantics here.

Re: Virgin Media seek talks with ITV again
 

Ok, if that's what you believe, fine.

Re: Virgin Media seek talks with ITV again
 

It's not about what I believe - its about logic. If you go to another company and make a proposal (A proposition, which is the same thing) and they have turned it down, in essence, you have still made an offer to them.

Re: Virgin Media seek talks with ITV again
 

OK, one last try here:)

Find me the ntl complaint to regulators complaining of Sky ruining their "bid" for ITV. You won't find it. What ntl have done is complain on two fronts to regulators:

1 - ntl have complained to regulators that under the Enterprise Act, Sky now has a material influence over ITV. So, ntl are saying this is stiffling competition under the Act.

2 - ntl is also complaining with support of many MPs, that by Sky having a large stake in ITV, this is not in the "public interest." As ITV is a public service broadcaster.

At no time, can ntl complain that Sky have ruined ntl's bid for ITV, because no such bid was made.

---------- Post added at 02:55 ---------- Previous post was at 02:49 ----------

I've just checked the city regs on this and because ntl made a proposal for ITV, ntl can't make a proposal or bid for another six months. But..., that is still not a bid, it's not semantics! There is a big difference, hence that's why there has been no complaint from ntl about Sky ruining their chances of buying ITV.

I think this press release makes things clear, I hope:)

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article...2060701113280N

---------- Post added at 03:53 ---------- Previous post was at 02:55 ----------

Logic is normally good except when it comes to the law, then it's thrown out of the window:) Talking of which and considering I'm half drunk and awake, I've dug up the law for you.

Go to page 65 onwards, requires java and acrobat reader. It explains all about the bid process:

http://www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk/n.../DATA/code.pdf

Alternatively, call Virgin Media's or ITV's press office and ask them if a bid was ever made.

Re: Virgin Media seek talks with ITV again
 

to me its the same you confusing me, how can you propose a bid, a bid is a bid but I guess you meant it was a sort of unofficial bid.

Re: Virgin Media seek talks with ITV again
 

....ok, I'll put it another way, it was a "sounding out exercise". It is very expensive to actually make bids/merge with other companies. So, what a company does if they want to buy another one is usually sound them out first, that is the proposal. What is the point of going to the expense of making a bid for a company, if they flatly reject it?

Another analogy: think to your school days. Were you the confident kid who went straight up to another boy or girl and asked them out (a bid)? Or, did you "sound out" out the prospect first with their friends (a proposal) to avoid disappointment? I was the unconfident one here:) See the difference?

---------- Post added at 14:10 ---------- Previous post was at 14:04 ----------

Here is the first paragraph from the 2nd press release dated Dec 6th, which I provided the link for:

"NTL announces that it has no present intention of making an offer for ITV, as it believes a transaction between ITV and NTL is unlikely to be attained on terms acceptable to NTL."

Why would ntl say "it has no present intention of making an offer for ITV" if it had already made such an offer?:)

Re: Virgin Media seek talks with ITV again
 

Would the 'acceptable terms' be that ITV wanted £5.25billion, instead of the £4.17billion 'Proposal' which was rejected?

So because it was rejected, they, being ntl/Virgin, refused to budge on £4.17m, thus the statement, 'ntl has no present intention of making an offer for ITV.'

That may sound weird but maybe ntl: omitted the word 'improved'...?

Either way, should Virgin now get a deal with ITV, the On Demand content, particularly soaps will be a massive addition.