Entertainment One rejects British broadcaster ITV’s $1.3 bn takeover bid

Entertainment One (eOne), a Canadian multinational media distribution company, has rejected a $1.3-billion (£1 billion) takeover bid from British broadcaster ITV, saying that the offer undervalued the company.

ITV, Britain's biggest free-to-air commercial broadcaster, has offered to pay 236 pence a share, valuing the owner of cartoon character Peppa Pig at roughly £1 billion ($1.3 billion).

The offer is a 19.3 per cent premium to eOne's share price of 197.90 pence on 8 August 2016.

"The board of eOne has reviewed the proposal and has unanimously rejected it on the basis that it fundamentally undervalues the company and its prospects," eOne said in a statement.

Toronto-based eOne has more than 40,000 film and television titles, 4,500 hours of television programming and 45,000 music tracks.

The London Stock Exchange-listed company has grown through strategic acquisitions and currently has 4,500 hours of TV programming and 45,000 music tracks. Its library alone is valued at more than $1 billion.

ITV is an integrated producer broadcaster, operating the largest commercial family of channels in the UK and is the biggest player in the UK television advertising with around 46 per cent market share.

ITV Studios produces content for both ITV's own channels and third parties in the UK and overseas, while its distribution business sells finished programmes and formats worldwide.

ITV Studios makes programmes including Coronation Street, Come Dine With Me, Hell's Kitchen, I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and the Jeremy Kyle Show.