UK - Buyout consortium walks away from ITV

Apax Partners, Blackstone and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners had revised their offer by putting in place a cash alternative worth 44 pence per new share, or more than £1.6bn, if its buyout succeeded and investors had wanted to exit.

Under the original terms, the consortium had offered 86 pence per share and one new share in the acquiring company for each ITV share currently held. The bidders would invest £1.27bn in the acquiring company to receive 48% of its issued share capital and borrow £3.5bn to pay the original cash option to investors.

ITV’s board said it was rejecting the offer because the new company’s leverage, at more than 7x 2005 EBITDA, would be 'unduly risky for a business that operates in a cyclical environment and has high operational gearing'.

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