Global Radio set to win GCap for £371m
Global Radio is talking to GCap Media about Global's indicative £371m offer for the company and sources close to the negotiations say a deal is expected to go through.
The board of GCap, the UK's largest commercial radio company, which is led by chairman Richard Eyre, began talks last week only after most of its concerns over possible conditions attached to a formal bid had been addressed, according to sources.
The indicative offer of 225p a share by Global, which is backed by Irish investors led by Denis Brosnan and Michael Tabor and chaired by former ITV boss Charles Allen, was the third approach by the group, which initially offered 190p a share in December.
The GCap board said the initial approaches 'seriously undervalued' the company, which owns Capital Radio and Classic FM.
It is also understood that the GCap board, as well as its investors, which include Daily Mail & General Trust, publisher of The Mail on Sunday, were concerned that it was not clear whether Global would go ahead with a bid in the face of concerns raised by the competition authorities.
Global already owns Heart and Galaxy radio stations. Global sources said its offer would not be conditional on competition approval while GCap sources said the company began talks after accepting that any bid would be free of major conditions.
The deadline for a formal offer is March 26 and sources close to the deal expect an offer to be accepted by the board.
Meanwhile, Global Radio is still in the running for Virgin Radio, which has been put up for sale by its parent, Scottish television company SMG. The expected price is £60 to £70 million.
Global is up against Ulster's UTV, Ireland's Absolute Radio International and Malaysia's Astro All-Asia Networks.
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