BBC confirms commercial review
LONDON, England -- The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has confirmed it held talks with media giants Time Warner, Bertelsmann and Walt Disney about its commercial arm BCC Worldwide.
But the publicly-funded UK broadcaster said it had not yet solicited bids for the division, Reuters news agency reported Wednesday.
A BBC spokesman said an article in the Financial Times that said the three companies had been "invited ... to discuss possible bids" was incorrect.
"The BBC is conducting a review of BBC Worldwide that we said would report at the end of the year," Reuters reported spokesman Donald Steel as saying.
"We're talking to people, including these companies, but they're not the only companies. We're consulting -- that's not offering a business for sale."
The FT, without quoting sources, said BBC executives believed the Worldwide division could be worth up to £2 billion ($3.55 billion).
It said the division generated free cashflow of £141 million ($250 million) in the 12 months to March 31.
The division's assets include the BBC America and BBC Prime channels, part of the UKTV channel, and 26 magazine titles, along with merchandising operations and the broadcaster's overseas program sales unit.
Steel said the review of BBC Worldwide -- undertaken ahead of the renewal of the BBC's governing charter, and in the wake of Lord Hutton's damning report on its coverage in the lead-up to the Iraq war -- was still in its early stages.
"We've asked investment bankers to assist with the review, but that doesn't mean we're putting it up for sale," Steel said. "We're exploring every option, from status quo to complete sale and everything in between."
Four investment banks -- Rothschild, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and CIBC of Canada -- are involved in the exercise.
According to the FT report, John Smith, the BBC's chief operating officer and finance director, on Tuesday met the top 100 executives of Worldwide, which employs 2,200 people, to discuss options.
He was told that profits could double to more than £70 million ($124 million) in the medium term as the business exploits growing international demand for BBC programming and merchandise.
Time Warner is the parent of CNN.
