The Chrysalis Group has sold its radio business to an investment company headed by former ITV top man Charles Allen. The new owners are a new company called Global Radio, a front for Irish private equity outfit Lydian Capital Partners, whose interest in Chrysalis' radio stations was much reported last week.
Global Radio has bought Chrysalis Radio for £170 million, at the lower end of the sums being discussed since Chryalis first indicated it might sell its radio concerns earlier this year, but still two and half times the company's revenues, something which should reinvigorate interest in the radio sector among city types, who have been a bit down on all things commercial radio as the sector battles declining advertising revenues and an ever dominant BBC.
City types will also be watching Global Radio with some interest. There has been much disappointment in investment circles that the only big deal to come out of the last lot of changes in radio station ownership rules was the GWR/Capital merger (and, perhaps, the EMAP acquisition of Scottish Radio Holdings). Some are wondering if Chrysalis's stations, which include Heart, Galaxy and LBC, are just the first radio acquisitions being contemplated by Global Radio. The Guardian Media Group's radio stations, which there was talk of Chrysalis acquiring at one point, might be a prime target. Though given their name, one assumes they will be considering radio acquisitions elsewhere in the world also (well, in those countries which allow foreigners to own radio stations).
As for Chrysalis, the sale means they will be concentrating their efforts more or less exclusively on music - in the main their music publishing catalogue, but also their recently revamped Echo recordings division and their wholesale entertainment product distribution business Lasgo Chrysalis. Bosses there seem quite pleased with the idea of focusing on music.
Commenting on the radio sale, Chrysalis CEO, Richard Huntingford said in a statement yesterday: "We believe that the sale of Chrysalis Radio as a complete entity meets the objectives of our strategic review of facilitating its participation in the longer term development of UK commercial radio and deriving good value for shareholders. This has been a thorough review process which has delivered a good result".