Apax Partners and the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs are considering a joint move that would see them take a stake in British broadcaster ITV, sources close to the matter said today.
"It is embryonic," one source said of the plans after a newspaper report that the private equity firms had approached ITV sent shares in Britain's biggest commercial broadcaster as much as 10 percent higher.
The Daily Telegraphsaid in an unsourced report that Apax and Goldman had approached ITV about injecting £1.5 billion ($2.6 billion) to gain effective control of ITV, home to hit TV shows such as Coronation Streetand The X Factor.
ITV would then increase its level of debt by returning up to £3.55 billion , or 86 pence per share, to shareholders, the paper said.
The source said Apax, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and maybe an unidentified third party were considering such a move.
Another person familiar with the matter said the private equity firms would end up with a minority stake in ITV, and were working with Greg Dyke, the former director general of the publicly-funded BBC, who would join ITV's management.
Mr Dyke is an advisor to Apax and has long been seen as a candidate to lead the broadcaster.
ITV, Apax and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.