Miles
20-11-2006, 11:45 AM
SIR Richard Branson's battle with Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB over the satellite broadcaster's surprise purchase of a 17.9 per cent stake in ITV descended into a bitter war of words last night.
The furious Virgin boss called for the Office of Fair Trading to intervene in BSkyB's acquisition of £940 million worth of shares, which he insists is aimed at derailing a takeover of ITV by NTL, the company in which his group has a 10.6 per cent share. And he made an impassioned plea for regulators, politicians and consumers to stand up to the "reckless and cynical attempts" to stifle competition and secure control of the British media.
"BSkyB's move is a blatant attempt to distort competition even further by blocking any attempt to create a strong and meaningful competitor," said Branson in a statement. "BSkyB is positioned to strongly influence ITV's operations in a manner that favours BSkyB's long-term plans, rather than the interests of the other 82 per cent of ITV shareholders who weren't offered a sweetheart deal on Friday."
Branson's claims were immediately dismissed by BSkyB. In an equally strongly worded statement, the broadcaster insisted it had invested in ITV because it was a "quality company" and an important part of the UK entertainment landscape.
BSkyB said: "Sir Richard seems to believe that he and his partners in NTL-Telewest have a unique right to acquire ITV. His reference in a statement today to the price we have paid for our investment simply suggests to us that he would rather pay a lower price."
MORE (http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=1715662006)
The furious Virgin boss called for the Office of Fair Trading to intervene in BSkyB's acquisition of £940 million worth of shares, which he insists is aimed at derailing a takeover of ITV by NTL, the company in which his group has a 10.6 per cent share. And he made an impassioned plea for regulators, politicians and consumers to stand up to the "reckless and cynical attempts" to stifle competition and secure control of the British media.
"BSkyB's move is a blatant attempt to distort competition even further by blocking any attempt to create a strong and meaningful competitor," said Branson in a statement. "BSkyB is positioned to strongly influence ITV's operations in a manner that favours BSkyB's long-term plans, rather than the interests of the other 82 per cent of ITV shareholders who weren't offered a sweetheart deal on Friday."
Branson's claims were immediately dismissed by BSkyB. In an equally strongly worded statement, the broadcaster insisted it had invested in ITV because it was a "quality company" and an important part of the UK entertainment landscape.
BSkyB said: "Sir Richard seems to believe that he and his partners in NTL-Telewest have a unique right to acquire ITV. His reference in a statement today to the price we have paid for our investment simply suggests to us that he would rather pay a lower price."
MORE (http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=1715662006)