London South East | The UK's favourite investor portal.

Total Market Volume now published - was 194m Friday, about 5.1% of ITV.

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/stock/ITV/itv-plc/company-page

However judging by index futures we are probably at “ or Trump makes things worse “ with his “48 hour deadline”…

🧩 Why Liberty used a placing in October 2025

A 5% block in ITV is big relative to normal daily trading volume.

An overnight accelerated bookbuild (placing) is typically used when:

•The stake is too large for the open market

•Seller wants certainty of execution

•Seller wants it done fast, in one clean event

•Investment banks can line up institutional buyers in advance

👉 In short:

They needed a controlled, off-market transaction to avoid crashing the price.

🧩 Why this week’s 2.5% sale looks different

A 2.5% stake is:

•Still meaningful, but

•Much more digestible by normal market liquidity

So they had more flexibility:

Likely alternatives used this time:

•Dribble-out selling (VWAP-style) over days

•Direct block trades into natural buyers

•Possibly a single negotiated cross without a formal placing announcement

👉 Key difference:

They didn’t need banks to manufacture demand in one night.

📊 What changed between the two sales?

1. 📉 Liquidity vs size threshold

There’s a tipping point:

•~5% → needs structuring

•~2.5% → can be absorbed more organically

Especially if:

•Volume has picked up

•There’s existing buyer interest (more on that below)

2. 🧠 Market conditions & sentiment

If the second sale:

•Didn’t move price dramatically

•Or was absorbed smoothly

👉 That implies better underlying demand now than before

Which is important.

3. 🎯 Strategic intent (this is the big one)

The pattern matters more than the method:

•10% → 5% (structured, decisive)

•5% → 2.5% (opportunistic / flexible)

This suggests:

👉 They are exiting, but not in distress

Instead:

•First cut = major de-risk / strategic shift

•Second cut = tidying up / continuing exit into strength

🔍 What this tells us (the real signal)

✅ 1. There are willing buyers

A 2.5% stake doesn’t just disappear.

Someone (or multiple institutions) absorbed it.

👉 That’s supportive for the share price

and often a precursor to:

•New long-term holders

•Or strategic accumulation

✅ 2. Reduced urgency

If they didn’t use a placing:

•They weren’t desperate

•They were happy to let the market take it

👉 That’s a less bearish signal than the first sale

⚠️ 3. But still clearly an exit

Let’s not sugarcoat it:

Liberty has gone:

•10% → 2.5%

👉 That’s a 75% reduction

So:

•They no longer see ITV as strategic

•Capital is being redeployed elsewhere

🧠 4. Possible “overhang clearing” story

This is key:

•Big holders exiting = temporary overhang

•Once gone = price can re-rate

👉 The second sale being easier suggests:

the overhang is being absorbed cleanly

🧭 Big picture interpretation

Put simply:

•First sale (placing) =

“We need to get a big chunk off quickly and safely.”

•Second sale (no placing) =

“The market can handle this now.”

🔮 What I’d watch next

1.Does the final 2.5% go soon?

•If yes → full exit → overhang gone → bullish setup

2.Who is buying?

•Any new holdings RNS

•Especially strate

Latest Share Chat

Member Info for BigEgo

Followers

Following

Posts (Last 30 Days)

Posts (All Time)

Last Post

Member Since

Share Chat Post Distribution (Last 30 Days)

Activity Log (Last 30 Days)

Latest Share Chat

Member Info for BigEgo

Followers

Following

Posts (Last 30 Days)

Posts (All Time)

Last Post

Member Since

Share Chat Post Distribution (Last 30 Days)

Activity Log (Last 30 Days)

Please enter at least 2 characters

No results found

Search results

Recently viewed

Trending