MUMBAI: The Times of India group has unveiled its global ambitions, making its first acquisition outside the home market. TIML Golden Square, a wholly owned subsidiary of Times group, has bought Virgin Radio Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiaries in the UK for ?53.2 million ($105 million) from Scottish media company SMG Plc.
With the deal, TIML will get the AM national licence and the FM London licence. TIML will manage the station along with Absolute Radio, the European group that already owns the music station Jack FM in Oxford.
The acquisition comes without the Virgin brand which will go back to Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. TIML will undertake a ?15 million rebranding exercise. Commenting on the deal, Branson said: “This decision was arrived at collectively only after we had all carefully considered the various options. I wish TIML all the best of luck with their new radio brand.”
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The value of Virgin Radio has fallen since SMG paid Chris Evans’ Ginger Media Group ?225m in 2000 for the radio business and a TV production company. SMG will focus on its television businesses, which include STV in Scotland and Ginger Productions.
TIML CEO AP Parigi said, “Now is a great period to be entering the UK market. We are pleased to be working with a great team of UK-based radio experts, Absolute Radio.”
The acquisition is not being made by ENIL, a listed company promoted by Bennett Coleman & Co. that operates Radio Mirchi. “The reason could be that Virgin Radio operates in a matured market. The promoters of Bennett Coleman would rather fund the acquisition and create more value to that business. They may not have wanted to put ENIL under funding pressure,” says a market analyst who is closely tracking the development.
Bennett Coleman’s media assets include The Times of India, the world’s largest-circulation English broadsheet daily newspaper, and channels Times Now and Zoom. It also runs a radio business under the Radio Mirchi brand.
