British broadcaster BSkyB is selling a 10.4% stake in commercial broadcaster ITV for about £200m to end a long-running legal battle over its investment.
Morgan Stanley said it was acting as sole bookrunner in the placing, which will cut BSkyB's stake in its fellow British broadcaster to one vote below 7.5%, as required by competition authorities.
BSkyB had bought a 17.9% stake in ITV in 2006 for £940m or 135p per share, effectively blocking cable group NTL, now renamed Virgin Media, from buying ITV and creating a larger and more powerful competitor.
Reports said the shares were being placed in a range of 48.5p to 49.5p. Shares in ITV closed down 2.3% at 51p this evening, before the placing was announced.
BSkyB's original investment had sparked a fierce public row between the company, led by its then-chief executive James Murdoch, and Virgin Media's largest shareholder, British entrepreneur Richard Branson. Branson accused the Murdoch media empire of being a 'threat to democracy' while politicians also questioned the move.
The matter was finally referred to Britain's Competition Commission in 2007, and in 2008 BSkyB was ordered to cut its stake to below 7.5%. Since then, it has been through a series of appeals, all of which it has lost.
