Capital Radio has won the bidding battle for control of Border Television. The commercial radio group, which owns 15 radio stations across England, bought the company for £146 million.
Capital joined the bidding war earlier this week after Border had rejected a hostile takeover bid from Scottish Radio Holdings (see Capital Radio Prepares Border TV Bid). Border had last week advised its shareholders to reject the £100 million takeover bid by SRH (see Border Seeks Alternatives To Hostile Scottish Radio Bid), which was first unveiled in March (see Scottish Radio Launches £116m Hostile Bid For Border TV).
James Graham, chairman of Border, welcomed the deal: “This is a very exciting deal for Border. With Capital Radio, we will be reaching audiences from the south east of England to the Scottish Borders and contributing strongly to Capital Radio’s growth strategy. We believe we have found a good home for our shareholders, our staff, and the ambitions of our company.”
Capital intends to use the deal to build a national analogue radio presence. Currently it owns 15 stations in London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Hampshire, Kent, Sussex, and Oxford and hopes to use Border’s Century brand, which serves a population of 10 million people in the North-East, North-West and East Midlands to extend its reach throughout Britain.
Chief executive of Capital Radio, David Mansfield, said: “This is an excellent deal for Capital Radio and demonstrates our commitment to grow not only organically but through acquisition. It strengthens Capital Radio’s national presence and allows our advertisers to target consumers in every major metropolitan market in England and Wales. With the acquisition of Border, we will further consolidate our position as Britain’s leading commercial radio group.”
The offer will be made on the basis of 92 new Capital Radio shares for every 100 Border shares, which based on closing prices on 12 April value each Capital share at £14.70 and each Border share at £13.52.
Border Television: 01228 525101 Capital Radio: 020 7766 6000
