DESPITE the collapse of recent merger talks between the owners of Ulster Television, UTV, and Scottish media giant, SMG, they are now back on.
An announcement yesterday by SMG said that it had received an approach from UTV regarding a “possible nil merger, based on relative market values” – in other words, SMG shareholders would receive 47 per cent of any combined entity and UTV shareholders 53 per cent.
In September, UTV pulled out of merger talks following two rejections from SMG. First, SMG rejected a proposal that its shareholders receive 50 per cent of the merged operation. Then, it rejected a revised offer of 52 per cent.
