UTV group back in high stakes race for FM104
MEDIA group UTV has re-joined the race to buy Dublin radio station FM104.
Last weekend just Dermot Hanrahan's Vienna Group and UPC parent Liberty Media were invited to meet FM104's management, which prompted speculation that the two parties were the only ones left in the race.
But it has now emerged that UTV was subsequently invited to a meeting with the FM104 bosses, with the Ulster executives going in for their presentation in recent days.
Meanwhile, the position of TV3 owners Doughty Hanson remains unclear as the group hasn't met with FM104 management and hasn't been formally eliminated from the bidding race.
Despite the ambiguity surrounding the proceedings, sources insisted heads of agreements for the station could be signed as early as the end of next week. That news will come as a relief to owner Denis O'Brien, who is keen to secure the station's quick sale as he must offload FM104 before he can legally take control of Today Fm and Donegal's Highland Radio.
"UTV, Liberty and Vienna have all been in now, so there's really not that much further to go," said one source.
"They parties will all get written answers to their questions by the end of this week, after that it's just a question of asking for second bids and then you're away."
FM104's sale is being handled by Mr O'Brien's Island Capital, which has kept an extraordinarily tight lid on proceedings.
"In terms of finding out what other bidders are at, we have more chance of getting that from media reports than from Island," noted one bidder.
The veil of secrecy notwithstanding, bidders now believe that offers for the station have come in at the higher end, and possibly above, initial expectations of €40-€50m.
Mr O'Brien would need to achieve €63m to maintain the 14 times earnings ratio that he paid for Today FM, Highland and FM104 However, a figure above €60m was always seen as unrealistic.
UTV and Doughty Hanson were initially seen as the forerunners in the race, as they fought hard to secure all three of the stations earlier this summer.
In recent days, however, Liberty has emerged as the favourite.
"People thought Liberty weren't looking at it in a serious way, but about seven of them turned up at the meeting with management this week, including (chief strategy officer) Shane O'Neill," said one observer.
"They were in there the longest of all three groups and they certainly looked very serious."
Assuming a price and buyer is agreed next week, that deal will still be subject to due diligence and Competition Authority approval.
The new owners, therefore, are not expected to take over the reins until February at the earliest.
- Laura Noonan
