Arsenal talks to Hollick as Carlton calls off takeover
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Your support makes all the difference.CARLTON COMMUNICATIONS has called off takeover talks with Arsenal after the media group and the North London football club failed to agree on an acceptable price.
Arsenal's board has now started talks with a number of different companies including United News & Media, the rival television and newspaper group run by Lord Hollick.
However, the discussions with United are about the rights to televise Arsenal matches and are not thought to include the possibility of a full takeover.
"We are in talks with a number of clubs but we are not looking to manage a football club. We are interested in television rights," a spokesman for United said yesterday.
The group, which also owns the Express newspaper, is thought to be keen to tie up content to show on its Anglian and Meridian ITV franchises. United also has a stake in SDN, the consortium which has been awarded a number of channels on the digital terrestrial television platform.
One possible outcome is that United injects cash into Arsenal in return for a minority shareholding and a long-term television deal. However, Lord Hollick is reluctant to tie large sums of cash up in a business where he does not have management control.
Arsenal is desperate to move to a new stadium in order to accommodate its large fan base. Despite winning both the Premier League and the FA Cup last season, Arsenal is lagging behind rivals such as Manchester United in its attempts to build up a sustainable revenue stream.
"Discussions regarding Arsenal's media rights and future relationship with United and other interested parties are at an early stage," Arsenal said yesterday. Ken Friar, the club's managing director, refused to elaborate on the statement.
Carlton and Arsenal first admitted they were in talks in September, the day after Manchester United agreed to a pounds 625m takeover bid from British Sky Broadcasting, the satellite television group.
It is understood that Arsenal's board, which controls 68 per cent of the club's shares, believe it is worth between pounds 275m and pounds 400m.
The shares, which are listed on the Ofex matched-bargain exchange, were unchanged at pounds 2,900 yesterday, valuing the club at pounds 162m.
BSkyB's bid for Manchester United sparked speculation that other media groups would attempt similar deals. However, despite a flurry of activity, no other bids have actually been tabled.
The outlook was muddied last month when the government referred BSkyB's bid to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. The wide-ranging inquiry is likely to hold up the bid until well into next year.
Another area of uncertainty is the Office of Fair Trading's case against the Premier League, which will be heard by the Restrictive Practices Court in the spring.
The OFT is arguing that the Premier League is acting as a cartel in negotiating television deals with BSkyB and the BBC. If the OFT is successful, each Premier League football club would be free to sell television rights to its home matches to the highest bidder.
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