Sky must sell ITV shares
Broadcaster BSkyB has lost its appeal and must dispose of more than half of its stake in ITV.
Broadcaster BSkyB has lost its appeal and must dispose of more than half of its stake in ITV.
The Competition Commission has ruled BSkyB must cut its stake in rival ITV from 17.9 per cent to below 7.5 per cent.
The regulator said BSkyB had an "unfair influence" over ITV after it bought the stake in 2006, in a deal that effectively blocked Virgin from buying the channel.
BSkyB originally bought the stake for 135p a share at a cost of £940 million.
However, shares in ITV have since fallen sharply as the broadcaster has struggled to attract advertising revenue during the credit crunch.
As of this morning, shares in ITV stood at 41.75p, wiping around a third off the value of the stake.
Sky said it would "review the judgement carefully and decide on next steps in due course".
The group could take the case to the Court of Appeal and potentially the House of Lords if it decides to fight the decision.
