JP Morgan, the investment bank hired by Setanta to advise on its current round of fundraising, is understood to have placed a valuation of £1bn ( 1.5bn) on the company following its recent success in securing the rights to televise 46 Premiership football games in the UK next season.

That values the 35% stake held by founders Leonard Ryan and Michael O'Rourke at 525m and the 40% stake held by venture capital firm Benchmark Capital at 580m . . . ten times the value of its original investment.

Setanta recently agreed to pay £392m ( 571m) to the English Football Association for the package of Premiership rights, trumping Sky Sports and several other broadcasters in the process.

The company also acquired the rights to broadcast 76 matches in Ireland. The FA carved up the Irish rights between Setanta and Sky for a total consideration of 120m. Setanta has not revealed how much its package cost.

The company has previously said it would be raising new money to pay for the rights and to fund its expansion plans in the UK, where analysts have estimated it will need to recruit up to 750,000 subscribers to justify its 580m outlay on football rights.

A report in a British newspaper last week suggested Setanta is likely to fund its ambitions primarily by taking on debt but that it also intends to sell some shares.

It is understood Ryan and O'Rourke, who started the company in the Top Hat Ballroom in London in 1990 when they bought the rights to broadcast Ireland's World Cup match against Holland to a group of expats, do not want to dilute their stake too much but will nonetheless seek fresh equity.

Prospective investors will pay handsomely for the right to buy into the Setanta story.

JP Morgan is reported to have placed a tentative value of between 1.3bn and 1.5bn on the company.