(ITV.L) ITV PLC Buy/Sell

RNS Number : 8156U

30 June 2009

30 June 2009

ITV plc

Notification of Transactions of Directors

On 30 June 2009, the non-executive directors of the Company acquired the following shares in the Company at a price of 35 pence under the terms of a Trading Plan arrangement. The shares will be held in individual nominee accounts, and will be released to the directors when they step down from the Board of ITV plc.

Name Number of shares Total holding after Percentage of issued share capital
bought event
Sir George Russell 17,519 99,518 0.0026
Mike Clasper 8,092 35,458 0.0009
James Crosby 10,189 124,014 0.0032
Andy Haste 6,520 36,105 0.0009
Heather Killen 6,520 24,105 0.0006
John Ormerod 6,520 64,105 0.0016
Baroness Usha Prashar 7,568 19,340 0.0005
Agnes Touraine 6,858 114,626 0.0029

This represents an acquisition of shares under an arrangement by which the non-executive directors have agreed to use 25% of their annual fees, after statutory deductions and associated costs, to acquire shares in the Company on a quarterly basis.

For further enquiries please contact:

ITV plc

Tel: 020 7156 6000

Press enquiries

Ruth Settle - Director of Corporate Communications

Louise Evans - Head of Corporate Communications

Investor enquiries

Christy Swords - Director of Investor Relations

Pippa Strong - Head of Investor Relations

Tulchan Communications

Tel: 0207 353 4200

Andrew Grant

Susanna Voyle

Tom Rayner

Website: www.itv.com; investor information: www.itvplc.com

This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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LONDON, June 28 (Reuters) - ITV has placed Elizabeth Murdoch, the daughter of Rupert Murdoch and founder of Shine Entertainment, on the short-list to become the company's new chief executive, reported the Sunday Telegraph.
The newspaper cited sources as saying Murdoch's understanding of international media and entrepreneurial skills make her an obvious candidate despite her family's connection to BSkyB, which was founded by her father.
BSkyB, whose chairman is Elizabeth Murdoch's brother James, has been fighting to hold on to a 17.9 percent stake in ITV, after ITV and competition regulators tried to make it sell the holding.
BSkyB has taken the case to the Court of Appeal.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Times said ITV is keen to make a successor to Michael Grade by the time of its first-half results on Aug. 6 and had asked headhunter Russell Reynolds to step up the pace of the search to avoid a period of uncertainty.
ITV could not be reached for comment.

(Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter) Keywords: ITV CEO/ (matthew.scuffham@reuters.com; +44 20 7542 6734)

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Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

June 26 (Reuters) -

LONDON, June 25 (Reuters) - British broadcaster ITV said on Thursday that just over half of its bondholders accepted a bond exchange offer that will help reduce its debt pile.
"ITV confirmed today that bondholders holding 54 percent or 268 million euros ($373.4 million) of ITV's 500 million euro 2011 bond have accepted its recent exchange offer," the broadcaster said.
Finance Director Ian Griffiths said the exchange had improved the group's finances for the medium term.
"The success of the offer considerably smoothes our debt repayment schedule over the next five years and halves the level of the bond repayment due in 2011," he said in a statement.
Bondholders who accepted the offer will get about 80 million euros and will receive new bonds with a nominal value of about 188 million euros and a coupon of 10 percent.
Earlier this week, ITV had increased the coupon on the new bonds to 10 percent from 9 percent it had offered originally.
The coupon increase had followed talks with its bondholders.
The bond exchange gives ITV more time to tackle its debts, which stood at 730 million pounds at the end of 2008.
The broadcaster has been hit by an industry-wide slump in advertising revenues and its debt has fallen into "junk-rated" territory.
"The result is pretty much in line with expectations," said Mark Chapman, analyst at CreditSights. "There was some concern after they had to increase the coupon of a push-back by investors, which seems to have been the case to some degree."
He said the exchange allowed ITV to smoothe out its debt maturity schedule.
"They would probably like to do more in the medium term if there is some willingness from creditors."
Five-year credit default swaps on ITV were about 10 basis points tighter at 465 basis points before the exchange results and there was no market reaction after the results were announced.
"A take-up of about 50 percent is not bad at all," said one trader. "I was expecting something like 10 to 15 percent but then they sweetened the offer a couple of days ago and it has obviously worked."
ITV joins a growing list of companies doing bond exchanges partly to give themselves more time to pay debts and also to take advantage of attractive prices for their bonds.
Dutch retailer Ahold, for example, made an exchange offer this week for $690 million of bonds due to mature in 2010.
ITV said the remaining 232 million euros of bonds held by investors that were either ineligible to take part in the exchange or chose not to, would not be affected.
These bonds will mature in 2011.
ITV's next significant bond repayments will be 155 million pounds in 2011, 110 million in 2013 and 126 million in 2014, the company said.
ITV said it had cancelled a 450 million pound revolving credit facility, which had not been drawn on. It was due to expire in 2011.
(Reporting by Jane Merriman, Natalie Harrison and Tom Freke; Editing by Mariam Karouny) ($1=.7177 Euro) Keywords: ITV/

(jane.merriman@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 3121;Reuters Messaging:jane.merriman.reuters.com@reuters.net)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.