Investors queue up for a slice of Setanta

Setanta Sports, facing bankruptcy tomorrow over the non-payment of part of its obligations to the FA Premier League has been offered a lifeline by Access, an investment vehicle run by Russian-born US billionaire businessman Len Blavatnik. The company said "The Access proposal is subject to a number of pre-conditions being met. Access believes that this proposal would secure the future of the broadcaster for customers, football and employees."

Setanta owed £35m out of its total £392m three-year contract with the league but after seeing interest from Access it was able to release £10m to the authorities. Blavatnik offered £20m for a 51 per cent stake in the company and as a result Setanta has received a stay of execution until Friday to pay another £10m and then the rest of the money within the next month.

Access is not the only interested party however, with television production company Endemol also thought to be considering taking a stake. The Big Brother-maker was said to be interested in going in on an equal footing with Access, but after the latter announced plans to take 51 per cent Endemol's attitude may have changed. It already has some sports production facilities and may at least want to take on Setanta’s own production business.

Setanta has not released a formal comment on the potential offers.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:An analyst, quoted in the FT: "The company is desperate, its back is against the wall. This business used to be worth hundreds of millions but this tells you they have had to cede everything to stay alive."

Graham Hutson in the Times: "Another oligarch in the news - this time Len Blavatnik, known for his oil and media interests, is making a play for the embattled sports broadcaster Setanta. When you take a look at the amount of extremely wealthy Russians holding up the pillars of business these days, you might well wonder where we would be without them. These are the people who can afford to take the risks, and judging by the success and failures of their ventures, it's not so much the winning that counts, it's the taking part." ·