UBS upgrades ITV to 'buy' on BSkyB stake sale hopes

4th Jul 2014 12:25

UBS has begun advising investors to buy shares in ITV, saying the broadcaster could benefit from shareholder BSkyB selling its stake.The Swiss investment bank has upgraded ITV to a 'buy' from 'neutral' with a 210p price target.UBS said BSkyB could sell its 7.5% stake in ITV in the market as part of its plan to create a "Sky Europe" broadcasting titan by buying Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland from Rupert Murdoch's Fox.BSkyB could also sell its stake to Fox as part of the deal, which UBS said would be positive for ITV because Fox would have what may be seen as a strategic stake in ITV, sparking potential merger and acquisition opportunities, UBS said.UBS also said ITV had a compelling valuation. "We upgrade back to 'buy' and highlight that ITV is in our Alpha Preferences Most Preferred List," the broker said.Investors tuned into ITV's shares by 0.5p to 184.2p at 12:02 in London.PW