Talk Management Has Guardian And UNM Backing

It has emerged that the management buyout bid for Talk Radio is being backed by both Guardian Media Group (GMG) and United News & Media (UNM).

The bid for the 63% stake in Talk Radio was submitted to holders CLT-ufa last Friday. On Monday Kelvin MacKenzie’s consortium (see MacKenzie Leaves Mirror Group To Bid For Talk Radio) also submitted a proposal; both bids, believed to be around £20 million, were considerably lower than the £60 million CLT had been hoping for.

GMG and UMN’s backing was included in the Talk management’s buyout proposal submitted last week, but their involvement was intended to be kept under wraps. It is believed that if the consortium is successful in gaining Talk Radio it would gear the station to become a rolling news and sports service similar to Radio 5.

A spokesperson for Talk Radio said that CLT-ufa had given no indication of when it would announce its decision. “We have no idea how long we’ll have to wait,” she said.

Talk Radio: 0171 636 1089