Setanta Sports has quietly abandoned plans to sell itself after potential buyers balked at the £1 billion asking price for the specialist sports broadcaster.

Investment bankers said that Goldman Sachs had tried to drum up interest in a sale of the loss-making company, producing some basic documentation, but it proved impossible to get an auction moving because the price was too high.

Setanta, which transmits English and Scottish Premier League matches, said yesterday that it had “decided not to engage further” with a sales process. It is likely to tap existing shareholders, which include Balderton Capital, Doughty Hanson and Goldman Sachs, for more funds if it needs money to secure additional sports rights. Some analysts estimate that the company may need another £150 million to break even.

Setanta burst into public awareness when in 2006 it snapped up the rights to show 46 Premier League games a year, breaking the monopoly of BSkyB, which is 39.1 per cent owned by News Corporation, parent company of The Times. Setanta’s broadcasts began at the start of this season and and now attract audiences of about 650,000, the company says.

The upstart broadcaster has since picked up rights to show England away games and some FA Cup matches in conjunction with ITV. It will show the England games and FA Cup matches from next season.

Founded in 1990 by Michael O’Rourke and Leonard Ryan, two Irish entrepreneurs, the broadcaster has grown steadily, first winning rights to Irish games, then scooping the Scottish Premier League. The two remain in charge, with significant shareholdings.

Those potentially interested include BT, Virgin Media, ITV and Walt Disney, which was widely considered to be the most likely contender because it is keen to expand its American ESPN network internationally.

However, any buyer would have to rebid for Premier League rights next year, which cost the company £392 million.

“They tried to drum up interest, but nobody bid. Even Disney didn’t bid,” said one investment banker familiar with the situation. Other bankers said that Goldman Sachs put together a “teaser” to gauge interest, but found limited interest in a company that still makes losses.

However, Setanta disputed the idea that it had suffered a setback and said it was always unlikely that the company would opt for a sale.

A spokesman said that the founders would be reluctant to sell for anything other than what they believe to be a high price and that the duo have repeatedly defied critics who argue that they cannot expand.

No financial figures are available for the private company, although insiders say that revenues in the first quarter are up 500 per cent on the same period last year, when Setanta was not showing any top-flight English football. The company has 1.2 million subscribers who pay £9.99 per month to watch games on satellite or Freeview, plus a further 2.2 million who get the channel free because they subscribe to Virgin Media’s XL package. Setanta recieves a monthly payment for each subscriber from Virgin Media.

The business will enter a crucial period after the football season. Most of Sentanta’s subscribers are not tied into long-term contracts and could close their subscription in May, before resuming it in August.

Setanta, though, is trying to build a portfolio of summer sports, and recently acquired rights to the Indian Premier League cricket, although that competition only runs to the beginning of June.

The team

Who are the shareholders?
Leonard Ryan and Michael O’Rourke, the founders of Balderton Capital venture firm; private equity firm Doughty Hanson; Goldman Sachs; funds run by AIG insurance giant

What it shows
46 Premier League games, Scottish Premier League live, FA Cup and England away games (next season) French, German, Dutch and Portuguese league games Magners League, Irish, Scottish, Welsh club rugby, Indian Premier League cricket. US PGA golf

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