LWT fires final shot at Granada

LWT yesterday delivered a closing salvo in its bid to stay independent of the Granada conglomerate, whose hostile pounds 776m bid for the London weekend broadcaster closes in 10 days, writes Gail Counsell.

Granada's bid was 'still far too low', said Sir Christopher Bland, LWT's chairman. His company had an outstanding record, was big enough to compete successfully in the new deregulated ITV network and its prospects were excellent after a strong start this year, he insisted.

The fate of LWT's management, which owns 10 per cent of the company and opposes the bid, is unclear if Granada wins.

Asked if he would be prepared to stay, Greg Dyke, LWT's highly respected chief executive, said: 'Who knows?'. It would be 'damaging' to the management's case were it were to threaten resignation if Granada won, he added.

Sir Christopher said that if Granada's bid failed, he expected LWT's share price to fall. But he added that he did not think it would stay down. The company is due to begin meetings with most of its major shareholders this week to argue the case for its independence.

Gerry Robinson, Granada's chief executive, said the latest LWT defence document was strong on presentation but weak on content.

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