Emap acquires Scottish Radio Holdings for £391 million |
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Tue, 21 Jun 2005 20:35
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Magazine and radio group Emap has brought out Scottish Radio Holdings in a deal worth £391 million. With this deal Emap has gained control of the SRH networks as well as the 22 radio stations spread across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland that are owned by it.
Emap has been pursuing SRH ever since January 2004 when it bought a 27 percent stake in the company. When asked to clarify its plans regarding bidding for the entire group, Emap had said that it was indeed interested in buying out SRH although "the board of Emap has made no formal approach to the board of SRH since acquiring its shareholding." But Emap has had to slightly overpay on its initial offer of £10.40, which was rejected by the SRH board earlier this year.
| The offer that was finally accepted was that of £10.88 a share, which enabled Emap to buy out the remaining 73 percent of the firm. This deal means that Emap can combine SRH owned stations of Cool FM in Northern Ireland and Tay FM in Dundee, to its existing ones of Kiss, Kerrang and Magic.
Commenting on the deal, Emap chief executive, Tom Moloney said, "This is an important step in Emap's radio strategy, one that creates real value and leaves us well placed to make the digital step that will be so important in establishing leadership of UK commercial radio. To compete more effectively, scale of audience and infrastructure will be increasingly important. This transaction enables us to create the highest quality independent local radio business, reaching all of the UK's major conurbations and delivering a strong position in Ireland."
The SRH chief executive, David Goode, responded to the takeover by saying, "Combining Emap's radio business with SRH's network of 22 highly rated stations in the UK and Republic of Ireland will create a strong national radio group with exciting prospects. The offer delivers significant value for our shareholders, enabling them to realize a premium in cash."
Emap also announced that it would be selling the newspaper arm of SRH, Score Press, to Johnston Press for £155m. "Score Press is a highly profitable and well-run portfolio of weekly newspapers. It represents a very valuable asset and a good fit with Johnston Press's extensive newspaper interests," Mr. Goode commented.
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