SportBusiness.com

Premiere’s stock rose 7.4 per cent to €12.13 on the Frankfurt market on the speculation, valuing the company at €1.31 billion. Analysts believe that either Kirch or someone else is preparing a bid on Premiere.

Georg Kofler, former Premiere chief executive officer until August, said earlier this year that private-equity firms and other companies “have shown their interest in the past,'' and that the company is “contacted on a regular basis about this matter.''