ITV has been such a poor performer recently, it is almost inevitable it would be attracting predators. At the weekend there were new reports that private equity companies had revived their interest, and this has put some life into the shares.
At the moment they are 2.6p higher at 79.1p, also helped by an upgrade from Bear Stearns which has raised its rating from underperform to peer perform.
Hopes that Royal Bank of Scotland could avoid a rights issue - analysts were last week suggesting it might need to tap shareholders for £12.5bn - have revived its shares, up 24.75p to 413.5p. Weekend reports suggested the bank's chairman Sir Tom McKillip had been reassuring shareholders that it did not need to cut its dividend or raise cash, and could consider selling assets such as its stake in Bank of China.
Punch Taverns duly confirmed its - nearly - all share offer for rival Mitchells & Butlers. Punch shareholders do not seem to like the deal, however, and its shares have fallen 33.5p to 680p, making its paper offer less valuable. M&B, which has also received other expressions of interest, added 17.5p to 467.75p
There was also some action in the mining sector. After the Chinese raid on Rio Tinto, seemingly designed to block any bid from BHP Billiton, comes news that rival Anglo American has signed a deal with the China Development Bank for a range of mining projects in China, Africa and elsewhere.
Engineering group FKI slipped 1p to 66p after rival Melrose, down 0.75p to 149.25p, revealed itself as a potential bidder. Melrose is offering 70p a shares in a mixture of cash and paper.
But budget airlines fell back after a profit warning from Ryanair, down 14% to €3.11. Easyjet dropped 28.25p to 438.5p in sympathy.
Overall the market is fairly upbeat, with the FTSE 100 up 30.5 points at 6059.7.
