Emap Agrees Sale Of Irish Stations

The sale is conditional upon obtaining certain necessary regulatory clearances which Emap expects to be obtained in the second half of its financial year.The stations, comprising Today FM, FM104 and Highland Radio, were acquired with Scottish Radio Holdings (SRH) in 2005 (see Emap Buys Scottish Radio Holdings).

In the year to 31 March 2007 the Irish stations had revenue of £21 million and operating profit of £7 million. At 31 March 2007, the business had gross assets of £55 million and a carrying value of £44 million. The sale is expected to be free of tax to Emap and it is intended that the sale proceeds will be applied to reduce group borrowings.

Alun Cathcart, Emap executive chairman, said: “The Republic of Ireland stations are great businesses, performing strongly with committed management and talent and we wish them every success under their new ownership. This sale, and the recent sale of Agor, demonstrates our absolute commitment to accelerating our strategic aim of generating value for our shareholders.”