Competition Commission to probe GMG sale
THE Competition Commission is to investigate the acquisition of Salford-based GMG Radio’s Real and Smooth stations by Global Radio.
A deal, which valued the stations at around £70m, was agreed in June.
Bu the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has now referred the case to the Competition Commission which will decide whether the acquisition may result in a substantial lessening of competition.
Pre-merger, Global Radio operated the Heart, Capital, LBC, Classic FM, Gold and Xfm radio brands across the UK, while GMG Radio operated several stations under the Real or Smooth brands.
Yesterday culture secretary Maria Miller said the deal did not raise serious plurality issues relating to the provision of news.
Former culture secretary Jeremy Hunt ordered an investigation citing concerns over the combination of the largest and third largest radio groups in the UK.
