Revised TVS offer is worth an extra 8.5m pounds

International Family Entertainment, the US cable television group headed by the evangelist Pat Robertson, has succumbed to pressure from TVS preference shareholders and raised its offer to them.

As reported in the Independent yesterday, the cash element of the offer has been raised from 43p to 60p a share. Preference shareholders also get shares worth 63p a share while ordinary shareholders are being offered 23p in shares or 35p cash.

The new cash will add about pounds 8.5m to the total value of the IFE offer, making it worth between pounds 44.4m and pounds 56.5m, depending on how many investors take the cash alternatives.

The offer for the former ITV franchisee was raised after IFE was told by Sun Life that it would accept the offer at the new level for its holding of 5.07 million shares. Taken with acceptances already received, 79 per cent of ordinary shareholders and 52.8 per cent of preference shareholders have now pledged to take the offer.