Liberty Global seen hiking stake in ITV

A spike in ITV shares late in the trading session appeared to have been provoked by reports that Liberty Global's billionaire chief John Mallone might be more minded to pursue the acquisition of small mobile networks now that a tie-up with Vodafone was off the table.

London-based Liberty Global was reportedly seen increasing its 9.9% stake in ITV.

The company led by Malone last hiked its holding in ITV on 31 July, increasing it from 6.4%, as it looked to expand into owning assets that produce content instead of just the cable distribution networks.

Shares in ITV ended the day 0.93% higher at 250.5p.