Emap Radio could be sold off bit by bit, with some radio brands sold to the buyers of accompanying magazine or television brands to speed up the sale process, according to City analysts.
The radio division is known to have attracted significant interest from Global Radio and GCap, but competition issues that would arise from a trade sale could delay finalising the deal by as much as six months.
A number of private equity bids led by former Chrysalis chief executive Phil Riley and Tim Schoonmaker, ex-chief executive of Emap Performance, are also on the table.
The Global bid remains favourite, but would create questions of monopoly, both in the regions and in London, as Magic and Heart cover the same total survey area and target audience.
Meanwhile, the City is predicting that the new owners of licences such as Heat Radio will either sell the station back to the owners of the parent print brand or ditch them and use the spectrum for a different station.
Last week Emap sold its two main pension schemes to insurance company Paternoster, in a deal that removes an important obstacle for the break up of the company’s business assets (see Emap Pension Scheme Sale Removes Obstacle For Break Up).
Emap has told bidders to place final offers for its divisions by December 3. Its business publishing division is valued at around £1.3 billion, consumer magazines at £600-£700 million and broadcasting assets at around £400 million (see Emap Asks Bidders To Consider Buying Emap Plc Title).
Also last week, Emap reported its pre-tax profits fell by 16% to £79.7 million for the six months ending September 30, but the group said it was on track to meet its full-year performance expectations (see Emap’s Pre-Tax Profits Drop 16%).
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