UK Round-Up: BSkyB Makes VMtv Bid; Terra Firma’s EMI Cash Injection; Newspaper Readership Grows

BSkyB–Virgin Media: BSkyB (NYSE: BSY) could be looking to bolster its digital TV portfolio by splashing out on seven channels from its close pay TV rival Virgin Media: according to FT.com, Sky is offering a so-far unbeaten £160 million for VMED’s VMtv content division, including Living and Bravo. VMED has been considering selling the VMtv division for months and a sell-off looked especially likely after the sale of its shopping channel business Sell-off TV and the exit of content division CEO Malcolm Wall. Sky’s bid is thought to be well above the money offered by other interested parties, including Channel 4, Five owner RTL, and Time Warner (NYSE: TWX). VMED and Sky only patched up a bitter row last year over offering access to each others’ digital channels — the resultant deal made Virgin pay Sky £38 million a year for the carriage of channels such as Sky News.

EMI-Terra Firma: After writing off half the value of its

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