£300m asking price for last big UK TV producer Tinopolis

The starting gun has been fired for the race to buy Tinopolis, the biggest remaining British independent TV producer.

A price tag of £300 million has been attached to the business, which is based in Wales and is behind programmes such as Question Time and Big Fat Gypsy Weddings.

Several media company owners, including ITV, Sony and All3Media, as well as private equity firms have been handed a prospectus for the business, with options for Tinopolis including a full or partial sale.

Tinopolis is seen as particularly attractive after a plethora of US media firm deals over the past few years, leaving the Welsh group to be the largest UK TV producer left. It is thought the sale could draw figures way above the asking price, with an eventual owner more likely to be a trade buyer than a private equity outfit.

A complete sale could be tricky, however, as Tinopolis’ senior bosses rejected a serious offer from MSD Capital in 2013. Also Entertainment One, behind Peppa Pig and The Walking Dead, had entered talks about a possible sale this year, but no agreement was reached.

A sale of Vitruvian Partners’ 48 per cent stake in the business may be more likely for Tinopolis, though may not satisfy potential buyers.

Tinopolis owns various producers including Channel 4’s Paralympic Games coverage, Mentorn Media, behind Question Time, and Firecracker, which makes Big Fat Gypsy Weddings.

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Related information:
Media companies for sale
Global M&As reach five-year high

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