ITV duo get green light to merge

GRANADA and Carlton have finally been given the green light for their merger by the Competition Commission. The regulator will impose some conditions on the deal, but they will be less onerous than the companies feared, the Daily Mail has revealed.

The Commission has listened to pleas by the ITV duo that their tie-up would be spoiled if they are forced to spin off both their advertising sales houses.

Instead, they are likely to be forced to sell a proportion of advertising airtime each year and to tweak contracts to ensure that advertisers do not get a raw deal.

These remedies will please Granada chief Charles Allen and Carlton chairman Michael Green, as they are in line with proposals they made to the Commission at a late stage in the inquiry.

A formal announcement will not be made until next month. The Commission passed its 456-page report to the DTI yesterday afternoon, ahead of a deadline that had previously been extended until 26 August.

Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt will make the final ruling within four weeks. She has the power to overrule the Commission, but this is unlikely because the Government has said it wants to take the politics out of merger decisions.

It will take several months for Granada and Carlton to complete their merger, but the deal would be a very welcome Christmas present for Green and Allen. They have been under fire since the collapse of ITV Digital.

The merger will appease investors, though some are still calling for management changes at the top.