ITV in talks to buy Talpa

UK commercial broadcaster ITV is negotiating to acquire John De Mol’s production company Talpa Media.

John de Mol

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange this afternoon, ITV said it was in exclusive talks to buy the firm, which is known for international formats such as The Voice and Utopia.

The statement read: “ITV is continually assessing opportunities to grow and develop its business in line with its strategy, including the assessment of potential acquisitions.

“ITV confirms that it is in exclusive discussions regarding an acquisition of Talpa. These discussions may or may not result in agreement of a transaction.”

The statement was prompted by press speculation about the deal following a report in UK trade magazine Broadcast earlier today.

Netherlands-based Talpa appointed Bank of America Merrill Lynch as an advisor after receiving a number of approaches from suitors interested in buying it in September last year.

21st Century Fox and FremantleMedia were named as possible suitors in the Dutch press, and rumours of interest from China abounded, with Zheijang TV airing its own version of The Voice produced together with Star China.

But it seems ITV is now in pole position to continue its recent buying spree.

The broadcaster paid US$360m for a controlling stake in Pawn Stars producer Leftfield Entertainment in May last year.

That followed its in-house production arm, ITV Studios, buying Duck Dynasty creator Gurney Productions, High Noon Entertainment, Hatfields & McCoys creator Thinkfactory Media and Diga Vision.

An undisclosed amount was also invested in Zealot Networks, the US digital content business founded by ex-Maker Studios CEO Danny Zappin, in December.

ITV had previously taken minority stakes in Indigenous Media, the Culver City-based producer of scripted digital series, and New York-based Believe Entertainment, which works with advertisers to create multi-platform and digital-branded entertainment.