IRISH PAY television broadcaster Setanta Sports said yesterday that it had no plans to raise new funds.

This followed reports in the UK media last weekend that the Dublin-based broadcaster had quietly abandoned plans to sell the business after potential buyers balked at a £1 billion asking price.

The reports added that Setanta was likely to tap existing investors for more funding to secure additional sports rights.

A spokesman for Setanta said it was business as usual at the company, adding that no new fundraising was planned.

The spokesman said no formal sale process had ever been conducted by the company.

Reports that Setanta was seeking bids surfaced recently after it emerged that an unsolicited offer was lodged before Christmas.

It is understood that on foot of that approach, Setanta's corporate adviser Goldman Sachs tested the water with other potential buyers but this process seems to have yielded no concrete offers. It is thought that Setanta's backers intend to continue to develop the business aggressively.

Setanta was founded in 1990 by Irishmen Leonard Ryan and Michael O'Rourke, both of whom are still large shareholders. Other backers include private equity group Doughty Hanson, which also owns TV3; Balderton Capital; Goldman Sachs, and private clients of Davy stockbrokers.

Setanta's portfolio includes live rights for three years to the Premier League in England, which it secured in 2006 for £392 million. Setanta broke BSkyB's monopoly on these rights when its coverage began last August.

Since then, it has secured live rights to the FA Cup and England's friendly internationals. It has about 1.2 million subscribers and its English soccer coverage attracts average audiences of 650,000. Negotiations on a renewal of the Premier League rights is due next year. Sources have suggested that Mr Ryan and Mr O'Rourke will wait until after that process is concluded before seeking to sell their stakes.