Veteran Hollywood producer Peter Chernin and the head of Banijay, have shown interest in purchasing a part of UK broadcaster ITV Studios.

According to people acquainted with the situation, veteran Hollywood producer Peter Chernin and the head of the French TV production company Banijay have indicated an interest in purchasing a part in UK broadcaster ITV Studios, the company behind the smash show "Love Island."

ITV's stock increased more than 3% in early trade on Wednesday, reaching a 10-month high.

The sources claimed that other studio companies supported by private investors had occasionally reviewed the asset as well. Analysts have estimated the company's worth at up to 3 billion pounds ($3.7 billion).

The largest free-to-air commercial broadcaster in the United Kingdom, ITV, is willing to sell a small portion of Studios to a strategic partner, such as a major TV producer or private equity company with production assets, but it prefers to maintain majority ownership.

The desire to maintain control of the company has proven to be a barrier to a prospective transaction for Chernin's co-production company North Road and Banijay's parent FL Entertainment, according to the sources.

The sources said that negotiations with interested parties had been going on lately, despite the lack of a formal procedure and the official appointment of banks to provide advice.

The potential latent value within ITV, as per analysts at Citi, was underlined by the Reuters investigation, despite the likelihood that all or even most of the Studios would be sold.

However, they said, "we can envision a scenario whereby, via consolidation, ITV may be able to concurrently both demonstrate and produce value from ITV Studios."

In a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listing in July, Banijay, which produces reality programmes including "Big Brother," "MasterChef," and "Survivor," joined Stephane Courbit's FL Entertainment, a French business. Since 2008, it has acquired more than 25 companies.

ITV expanded its Studios production division during the past ten years to lessen its dependency on the British advertising market and take advantage of the expanding demand for content throughout the world.

With the support of a schedule that includes dramas like "Line of Duty" and the game show "The Chase," it is aiming for yearly growth of at least 5% over the next three years. More than half of its income is generated outside of Britain.

Revenue increased 16% to roughly £1.4bn in the nine months that ended in September.

However, for investors, investment on the recently established ITVX streaming service and concerns about the durability of advertising have outweighed growth in Studios. ITV's stock has decreased 27% during the past year.

ITV is scheduled to release its annual results on March the 2nd. The performance of ITVX and advertising expenditures will be closely watched by investors.

(Investing.com, Reuters.com)