ITV sells final shares in channel 3 licence holder STV
ITV has sold its final shares in Scottish broadcaster STV, worth £7.5m, apparently ending speculation that it could attempt a takeover of the channel which holds the Scottish channel 3 licence.
ITV sold its 2,650,961 shares in STV on 9 December for 285p, having inherited them from Granada Media Group.
For years it had been speculated that ITV could attempt a takeover of STV one day, even after the potential takeover by Granada in 1999, which led to it buying the stock initially.
A statement from ITV explained: "We have held these shares for a number of years and decided that this was an appropriate time to take profit on our investment."
An STV spokesperson did not comment on the sale when asked by The Drum, but said that the company viewed it as a positive sign on the stock value of STV.
Granada Media Group merged with Carlton Communications in 2004 to create ITV Plc.