Tune in for the TV fight

ENEMIES, he's had a few. But Michael Green, the chairman of Carlton, has been brutally wounded by the very people who should have been his allies in merging Carlton and Granada to create one ITV.

Film-makers working for both channels could certainly learn from the bloody corporate events of the past couple of weeks. But with two famous comeback kings - Gerald Ratner and Charles Saatchi - among his closest friends, don't write off Green just yet.

As we report today, the volatile Carlton boss and his powerful cabal of non-executive directors seem to be seriously weighing the possibility of pulling out of the deal altogether.

Unlike his opposite number at Granada, Green built Carlton from nothing. He is emotionally tied to the business and becoming chairman of ITV was to have been his golden moment.

Now that the Competition Commission has given the all-clear to putting the two companies together on impressively generous terms, the way is open for a predator to pounce on Carlton, safe in the knowledge it could still merge the company with Granada or possibly consider also bidding for Charles Allen's group.

Green might be inclined to open the door to those who come knocking.

It now looks likely that there is closer to £100m in costs to be squeezed out of the combined businesses rather than the £55m promised by Green and Allen.

That would give a bidder plenty to go for. Without that, Green, who has barely been able to disguise his dislike of Allen during the recent months of merger negotiations, would be forced to watch his adversary gain all the glory for better-than-expected savings. The Green camp may, of course, simply be posturing in an attempt to extract better terms from Granada for its staff and shareholders.

Increasingly, it looks as though they have a case. Granada, always the larger partner, has effectively pulled off a takeover without bothering to pay investors any premium for the privilege. There is, clearly, a huge overlap in the shareholder base, so improving the terms would, in many cases, simply rob Peter to pay Paul.

But there are plenty of investors who hold only Carlton shares and they might welcome a better offer - if not from Allen then someone else.

Bankers will field this Googly

DOES Google's $25bn plan to float on the stock market by auctioning shares on the internet without using investment bankers spell doom for this most costly breed of financial advisers? Don't hold your breath.

Google may be able to get an initial public offering away without paying the usual 7% in fees, but others are less fortunately positioned.

Where would Royal & Sun Alliance's latest fund-raising have been if its investment bankers had not managed to get the share issue underwritten?

And with an eye on their gargantuan pay packets, investment bankers have an enviable track record of reinventing themselves.

The squeeze on equity markets has seen them plough into the debt markets. Lack of takeover sparkle in Western markets has prompted them to ply their costly wares in trickier markets such as Russia.

Rumours of their death look greatly exaggerated.