US telecommunications giant Liberty Global is likely to be ‘looking for opportunities’ to dump its remaining stake in British broadcaster ITV, an analyst has said.
Karen Egan, head of Enders Analysis, told The Mail on Sunday it was ‘likely’ that Liberty would want to sell the rest of its holding in ITV to pump cash into other assets in its empire.
A core focus is the group’s broadband business, which includes a 50 per cent stake in Virgin Media O2, Britain’s second-largest internet provider.
‘It’s quite possible it will sell the remaining stake,’ Egan said of the ITV holding, though she noted Liberty would need to wait 60 days before selling more of the business. She added: ‘It might not necessarily sell immediately after that – it’ll have to gauge market appetite. But I expect it’ll be looking for opportunities to sell.’
Sell-off: Liberty Global is likely to be ‘looking for opportunities’ to dump its remaining stake in ITV
Last month, Liberty cut its stake in ITV – whose shares are down almost 15 per cent in the past six months – from 10 to 5 per cent, raking in £140 million.
The US giant has owned a stake since 2015 but said it was offloading half to spend the cash on other parts of its portfolio with more growth potential. A shake-up is expected after Liberty’s chairman John Malone, 84, announced he would step down.
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