Shares in TV producer suspended

Shares in Sunset & Vine, the independent television producer, were suspended yesterday at 100p as the company announced that it is in discussions which may lead to a substantial acquisition. Market speculation has linked it to a possible deal with the privately-controlled Molinare, a Soho-based facilities house.

Molinare is larger than Sunset & Vine so a merger would, in effect, be a reverse takeover. The board said that if the proposed deal goes ahead it will require shareholder approval. Last month Sunset & Vine issued a profits warning, saying that its second-half profits would not "significantly" exceed its interim profits of pounds 278,000.