By Amy-Jo Crowley and Paul Sandle
LONDON (Reuters) - Banijay, the French TV production group owned by FL Entertainment, has pulled out of talks to buy British rival All3Media, said three people with knowledge of the matter.
All3Media's joint owners, Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) and Warner Bros Discovery, are instead pursuing a deal with another buyer with the hopes of agreeing a deal by Christmas, one of the people said. The identity of this bidder could not be learned by Reuters.
Bidders submitted binding offers for the "Fleabag" and "The Traitors" maker last month, with the owners seeking a price of around 1.3 billion pounds ($1.64 billion), Reuters reported last month.
But Banijay, which makes "Big Brother", "Survivor" and "Black Mirror", dropped out earlier this week after it did not meet the seller's price expectations, two of the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Spokespeople for Banijay, Liberty Global and Warner Bros. declined to comment.
A tough ad market and hefty losses at streamers has dampened appetite for content and pushed valuations for some production companies down.
British broadcaster and production company ITV (LON:ITV) was in talks to buy All3Media earlier in the year but said in July it was no longer "actively exploring" a deal. It said it would continue to "monitor" the situation.
Peter Chernin's North Road Company also withdrew from the auction after submitting a bid, Reuters reported last month.
Warner Bros Discovery and Liberty Global bought All3Media in 2014 for an enterprise value of about 550 million pounds.
($1 = 0.7935 pounds)