(Adds shares, analyst reaction)
LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - ITV, Britain's biggestfree-to-air commercial broadcaster, has agreed to buy the TVbusiness of Northern Irish network partner UTV for 100million pounds ($154 million) in cash, it said on Monday.
The deal will put 13 of 15 so-called channel 3 licences inthe hands of ITV, and the company said the combined businesswould benefit from ITV's investment in content, its advertisingsales team and broadcast infrastructure.
UTV will retain its radio businesses UTV Radio GB and UTVRadio Ireland, and its digital media businesses, Simply Zestyand Tibus Digital, ITV said.
Shares in UTV rose 4.6 percent to a five-month high of 181.5pence after the announcement, which has been widely anticipatedsince UTV said it was in talks in August.
Shares in ITV, whose hit shows include soap opera"Coronation Street" and drama "Downton Abbey", were down 0.5percent at 247.6 pence in a flat market.
Analysts at Citi said ITV was paying above the averagetransaction multiples for a broadcast business for UTV, whichmade a loss of 3.3 million pounds in the first half after itlaunched a new channel serving the Irish republic.
They said cost synergies, however, would make the dealbroadly neutral for ITV's earnings per share in the first year.
After the deal, only the two channel 3 licences in Scotlandowned by STV will remain outside ITV's control.
Analysts at Liberum said they did not think a final deal tounify the network was likely.
"We do not think ITV will make a bid for STV due to thepolitical sensitivities of Scotland's main commercialbroadcaster being owned by London-based ITV Plc," they said.
($1 = 0.6474 pounds) (Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Kate Holton and MarkPotter)
