Sale Process
A team led by Andrew Thornton were appointed by the BBC to manage the sale, with Ernst & Young acting as external advisers. The team were accountable to a BBC steering group including Zarin Patel and Peter Salmon.
Advertisements were placed in the Financial Times, The Times and Broadcast on 16 August 2007 inviting expressions of interest for the acquisition of this commercial subsidiary, with the aim of completing the transfer of engagements by the end of March 2008, subject to contract negotiations and approvals.
On 6 November 2007 The Guardian reported that the privatisation could be left with a shortfall of up to £15m to cover the transfer of the pensions of BBC Resources staff to a potential new employer.
The BBC has never released the names of the short-listed companies, with The Guardian reporting - in early 2008 - more leaks over concerns about pension obligations and asbestos exposure. On 7 March 2008 it was announced that the outside broadcast division would be sold, as expected, to Satellite Information Services- with a surprise announcement that the studios operation (employing around 350 staff at Television Centre and Elstree) would remain in BBC ownership.
In early June 2008, the fate of the third business was put on hold with the BBC stating that "for the time being, we are no longer actively in discussion with a buyer for Post Production" and that "like Studios, Post Production will remain within BBC Resources, which will continue to operate as a wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC". The staff newspaper Ariel had reported on 18 March that Post's 400 staff had been told that the BBC "may need to look at other solutions if the business is not sold at this stage".
Figures show that £3.4m had been spent on "consultants, legal and internal costs" during the sell-off. The sale of BBC Outside Broadcasts generated a profit of £7.7 million.
Read more about this topic: BBC Studios And Post Production
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