Five's owners poised to make £5bn swoop for ITV

EUROPE'S largest broadcaster, RTL, is considering a possible £5 billion-plus offer for ITV.

The move comes as the City is waiting for US-listed cable company NTL to formalise the bid approach it made for the broadcaster last week.

Luxembourg-listed RTL, which owns domestic TV channel Five, is working with private equity backers on the bid for ITV, which has a market capitalisation of £4.5bn and is almost £1bn in debt.

ITV shares rose as much as 2.2 per cent this morning, following the news.

The RTL plan would see private equity groups putting up most of the funds needed to acquire ITV, and allow it to acquire a majority share without calling on Bertelsmann, the German media group that owns the majority of its shares, to fund the deal.

However, it is understood that, as the group is concerned about overpaying, a rise in ITV's share price could derail the plans. Further complications could also arise if NTL, which approached the struggling firm last week, makes a formal offer.

The news comes just days after RTL's chief executive Gerhard Zeiller dismissed rumours of a potential takeover bid for ITV as "speculation".