ITV chief Adam Crozier steps down, fuelling takeover talk

ITV chief executive Adam Crozier has stepped down from his role at the broadcaster after seven years, with no direct replacement appointed yet.

Chairman Peter Bazalgette, who was appointed last year, will take on an executive role until a long-term successor for Crozier is appointed, with finance director Ian Griffiths leading the executive team for an interim period as he steps up to a new combined role that also incorporates operations.

ITV said is has "a well developed succession plan in place", with reports in December that Bazalgette had hired headhunters Spencer Stuart to look into long-term options to replace both Crozier and Griffiths.

Crozier, who replaced Michael Grade as the broadcaster's boss in January 2010, said he was stepping down to pursue a portfolio career.

The Scot, who joined ITV after returning Royal Mail to profitability and after a stint as CEO of the Football Association, has

Crozier, appointed by previous chairman Archie Norman, has worked hard to diversify ITV's business away from a reliance on advertising as the TV industry faces disruption from digital players.

Via heavy investment in acquisitions, including Talpa Media and Mammoth Screen, he expanded its production businesses and put greater emphasis on owning content that could be sold around the world, with non-advertising revenues making up 53% of total revenues at last count.

Bazalgette said: "Adam has been talking to me and the Board for some time now about his future plans. He has made a fantastic contribution to ITV and the Board is deeply indebted to him for his strong leadership and personal dedication in very successfully turning around the business and building a more global and diversified organisation with real scale in key creative markets around the world."

Crozier said: "It's been an absolute privilege to lead the transformation of ITV over the past seven years and I know that I will miss this great business and the people who work here. However, having spent 21 years as a Chief Executive across four very different industries, I now feel that the time is right for me to move to the next stage of my career and to build a portfolio of roles across the PLC and private sectors."

Shares in ITV shares dipped first thing on Wednesday morning, but after just over half an hour were down 1.3% to 208.6p.

Takeover rumours have long been grist for the City rumour mill and Crozier's departure is only likely to raise the volume.

The weak pound has spurred speculation that, as with Sky and Fox, an approach could be in the offing from a US media giant, such as John Malone’s Liberty Global, already a 10% shareholder, Viacom or Comcast, while domestic names such as BT have even been mooted.

"While investors seem a little worried he’s leaving, it’s very hard not to think about a potential takeover and the question facing investors is whether his departure comes as a precursor to a possible bid, or if the ‘well-developed succession plan’ for a long-term successor means the company is staying independent," said analyst Neil Wilson at ETX Capital.

He added: "So could a takeover be in the offing? Rumours abound and that has helped provide support to the stock. The sharp deprecation in sterling makes ITV even more appealing as a takeover prospect.

"Critically, ITV’s push into content has made it a more attractive prospect. The more that ITV adds content through studio acquisitions the more it makes itself a target by becoming less reliant on ad revenues. Moreover, with a place at the heart of UK broadcasting, it is strategically very well positioned and a prized UK asset, in spite of the concerns about declining ad revenues.”