Tim Schoonmaker, the Emap radio chief executive who resigned suddenly last week, is planning to team up with venture capital companies to bid for radio groups in the newly deregulated market place.
Schoonmaker, who ran Emap’s radio and digital television operations, announced his intention to step down last week, in a move that caused surprised city insiders to speculate that he may have become disillusioned after being overlooked for a promotion.
A report in the Observer suggests that Schoonmaker is keen to take advantage of the relaxation of the radio ownership regulations that will come in to force later this year under the Government’s recently passed Communications Act (see Parliament Finally Green Lights Communications Act).
The new legislation clears the way for a raft of consolidation in the radio sector and it is understood that Schoonmaker could use his expertise to link with Apax Partners or the Candover venture capital group to bid for a number of targets that could include Capital Radio or GWR.
A number of foreign bidders are also understood to be closely monitoring the market and Clear Channel, which owns 1,200 regional radio stations in the US, has made no secret of its intention to acquire a major UK radio group once the Communications Act comes into force (see Capital Radio Chief Moves To Quash Clear Channel Takeover).
However, speculation also suggests that Schoonmaker’s departure may prompt a shake-up at Emap that could see its radio assets, which include the Big City, Kiss and Magic networks, broken up and sold to the highest bidder.
A spokesperson for Emap denied that Schoonmaker’s departure could lead to the spin-off of the group’s radio operations, saying: “We are fully committed to our radio strategy and that hasn’t changed just because of Tim’s decision to leave.”
Over the last ten years, Schoonmaker has been instrumental in leading Emap’s emergence as a major force in the UK commercial radio market. Most recently he has been at the forefront of the expansion in cross-media brand creation and has overseen the launch of eight music radio stations on the Freeview platform.
