By Amanda Andrews and Mark Kleinman Last Updated: 11:21PM GMT 13 Dec 2008  Setanta has broadcasting rights to Premier League games, like yesterday's Manchester Utd v Spurs clash Photo: REUTERS  Setanta is confident that it can make a credible bid for chunks of the Premier League TV rights after holding preliminary talks with both existing and potential backers, despite the turmoil which has engulfed the financing markets during the past year.  The media company's current investors include Goldman Sachs and the private equity firms Balderton Capital and Doughty Hanson. Goldman has been advising Setanta on its initial conversations, but this weekend Setanta was preparing to recruit Close Brothers, the investment bank, to avoid any potential conflict between Goldman's dual role as a shareholder and adviser.  Setanta is considering a range of options to secure funding for its participation in the auction, including selling an additional equity stake in the business or tapping debt markets for cash. The company, which has built a significant profile since it first secured a share of the Premier League rights in 2006, is keen to upgrade the quality of games that it shows. It paid the Premier League £392m over three years for two of the six available packages, with BSkyB scooping the other four for about £1.3bn.  The Premier League is expected to formally begin the tender process for bids within days when it sounds an information memorandum to interested parties. These are likely to include BT, Walt Disney's ESPN network and the BBC. The current deal for broadcasters runs until May 2010.  Setanta's business model relies on borrowing cash to finance bids for TV rights, then recouping it through subscriptions. Although it has picked up more than a million subscribers, the company is not yet profitable, which has caused some to question whether it has the financial firepower to compete with the likes of BSkyB and the BBC.  A recent research note by Morgan Stanley said it doubted Setanta's ability to finance a more comprehensive bid for the Premier League rights.  Last week, Setanta won the rights to almost two-thirds of the Guinness Premiership rugby union fixtures being broadcast from 2010. While the latest investment, believed to be in the region of £10m, is by no means on the same scale as the Premier League, the move underlines Setanta's commitment to broadening its broadcast offering. The rugby deal will see Setanta broadcast 43 live games a season, with Sky broadcasting 26 live games.  Expatriate Irishmen Michael O'Rourke and Leonard Ryan, who are major shareholders in Setanta, established the forerunner of the TV company in 1990 in a London pub to allow their countrymen to watch an Ireland World Cup match. Balderton Capital, which specialises in investments in the technology, media and telecoms industries, and Doughty Hanson each own about 20pc of Setanta, as does Goldman.  Last night, Setanta declined to comment on its fundraising plans.
Setanta, the pay-television company, has begun secret talks to secure hundreds    of millions of pounds in funding as it prepares to wade into the next    auction of live broadcasting rights for English football's showcase, the    Premier League.