Liberty Global in advanced talks to buy BSkyB's stake in ITV - Sky
(Reuters) - Liberty Global Plc (LBTYA.O) is in advanced talks to buy British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc's (BSY.L) remaining 7.2 percent stake in Britain's biggest commercial free-to-air broadcaster ITV Plc, Sky News reported late on Wednesday.
The deal is likely to be announced on Thursday, Sky said on its website, adding that there was a "slim possibility" that the stake would go to institutional investors if talks fell through. (http://bit.ly/1oYX0Ad)
ITV's London-listed shares closed at 183 pence on Wednesday, giving the company a market capitalisation of about 7.4 billion pounds ($12.68 billion), according to Thomson Reuters data.
Representatives of BSkyB, Liberty Global and ITV could not be reached for comment outside of regular business hours.
Liberty Global has been expanding its presence in Britain, with the acquisition of cable company Virgin Media last year and a joint takeover with Discovery Communications of All3media in May.
(Reporting by Richa Naidu in Bangalore; Editing by Jan Paschal)