March 1 (Reuters) - British broadcaster ITV has sold its entire 50% stake in streaming service BritBox International to its joint venture partner BBC Studios for 255 million pounds ($322.09 million), it said on Friday.
The sale will allow ITV to focus on "supercharging" its UK ad-funded streaming service ITVX and growing its global Studios division, it said, adding that it would return proceeds to shareholders via a stock buyback.
"We will continue to make significant investments in the future to deliver long-term value to the BBC," Tom Fussell, BBC Studios CEO said in a statement.
ITV Studios will continue to receive an ongoing revenue stream from BritBox International similar to current levels for the use of ITV content under new extended licensing agreements, as part of the deal, it said.
BritBox UK is unaffected by this sale and will still feature BBC content as part of separate long-term agreements, ITV added.
($1 = 0.7917 pounds)
Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman
Source: Reuters