Britain’s NTL cable firm drops offer for ITV

NTL Inc., Britain’s biggest cable television company, abandoned a $9.33-billion offer for ITV less than three weeks after British Sky Broadcasting Group bought a stake in the broadcaster.

BSkyB, led by James and Rupert Murdoch, bought a 17.9% stake in London-based ITV on Nov. 17, eight days after NTL had expressed interest in a takeover. NTL’s biggest shareholder, Richard Branson, has criticized the purchase as unfair interference.