"ITV also rode the wave of speculative buying as rumours continued that a string of private equity firms have been studying a possible offer for the broadcaster. Weekend reports suggested buyout groups Providence, KKR and Apax were looking at ITV, although some sources suggested the smart money could be on Permira."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/02/05/cxmktrep104.xml