Endemol, the TV production company whose shows include Big Brother, Deal or No Deal and Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, is close to being put up for sale. Spanish owner Telefonica has reportedy taken advice from Merrill Lynch and is on the brink of hiring Credit Suisse to handle the sale proceedings. Private equity firms Apax Partners, Cinven, CVC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Permira are all thought to be interested, and a sale would be expected to fetch more than £1bn. Endemol, which was acquired by Telefonica in 2000 for EUR 5.5bn, now records revenues of over £680m a year.