SportBusiness.com

Takeover rumours surround Setanta Sports

Setanta Sports is bracing itself for a succession of takeover bids after an undisclosed European rival reportedly made an unsolicited bid of over €1 billion for the Irish pay-television broadcaster.

Setanta is understood to be looking for a valuation in excess of €1.3 billion. Interested parties are expected to include BT, ITV, Virgin Media and Disney.

Setanta agreed to pay €500 million in a three-year deal to share live Premiership coverage with BSkyB. Over three million people currently subscribe to its channels, which include the Setanta Sports News Service jointly owned with Virgin Media.