MARKET REPORT: ITV shares rise as it eyes acquisition

ITV shares rose on reports it has become a takeover target. The stock rose 8.6 per cent, or 5.65 pence, to 71.15 pence, although it is still down more than 70 per cent from its peak almost a decade ago.

The business, which is home to shows such as Coronation Street and Love Island, and whose production arm ITV Studios is behind recent hits such as Rivals for Disney+, is now valued at £2.5bn.

The stock has been dragged down in recent years by concerns over advertising spending and the profitability of its ITV X streaming service.

This has led to speculation that the company could be sold or dissolved, with its Studios production arm separated from the streaming division.

Over the weekend, Sky News said private equity giant CVC Capital Partners was interested in striking a deal.

The report said that CVC was planning to partner with a European broadcaster such as France’s Groupe TF1, and that the pair would then split the company with CVC taking over Studios and the broadcast arm moving to TF1.

All3Media, owned by RedBird Capital, and Mediawan, backed by private equity giant KKR, were also said to be interested in ITV Studios.

Global stock markets rose and U.S. borrowing costs fell as investors welcomed Donald Trump’s decision to tap money manager Scott Bessent as U.S. Treasury Secretary when he returns to the White House.

Jefferies economist Mohit Kumar described Bessent as “pro-growth but also fiscally conservative,” adding: “Trump’s election supports our view that the concerns of

“The fiscal expansion under Trump is overblown.”

The FTSE 100 rose 0.4 per cent, or 29.6 pence, to 8,291.68 and the FTSE 250 rose 0.8 per cent, or 167.57 points, to 20,749.26.

Shares in JD Sports rose 10 per cent, or 9.34 pence, to 102.8 pence after analysts at Deutsche Bank raised their rating on the self-styled “King of Coaches” from “sell” to “hold”, a sign that they believe the stock has improved. fallen far enough.

JD fell more than 15 per cent in a single session last week as it warned it may miss the £1 billion profit milestone this year due to weaker-than-expected trading.

Even after yesterday’s small rally, shares are down nearly 40 percent since mid-September. And while Deutsche’s upgrade was welcome, analysts at UBS cut their price target for the stock from 178p to 155p.

Mining giant Anglo American has completed the first stage of its demerger with the sale of its £3bn Australian coal business to US company Peabody Energy.

The deal is part of a major restructuring plan launched after the London-listed company rejected a £39bn takeover attempt by rival BHP (up 0.4 per cent, or 9p, to 2,086 pence) earlier this year. Anglo shares added 1.4 per cent, or 32 pence, to 2,391 pence.

Shares in pest control group Rentokil Initial rose 1.5 per cent, or 6.2p, to 412.9p after the appointment of former Flutter executive Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson as chief financial officer.

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca released upbeat data on its cancer drug Truqap. Shares were steady at 10,474 pence.