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Abu Dhabi-backed fund Redbird scraps plans for ITV studios takeover

By Daily,Editor

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Abu Dhabi-backed fund Redbird scraps plans for ITV studios takeover

Abu Dhabi-backed fund RedBird IMI attacked red tape in Britain after scrapping plans to buy the ITV production arm behind hits including Rivals and Run Away.

The Mail this year revealed talks were underway on forming a £3billion TV powerhouse between ITV and RedBird’s All3Media.

But RedBird is no longer pursuing a deal.

Speaking at a conference in Cambridge yesterday, its boss Jeff Zucker said: ‘The regulatory environment here has to change if the UK is going to continue to thrive.

‘As we think about investing in companies that we want to grow and maybe eventually take public, London is not necessarily the place we would want to do that.’

ITV has been betting big on its production arm, which is responsible for Disney+’s Rivals, starring David Tennant, as well as shows such as Netflix’s Run Away.