SMG merger talk revived
30/11/2006 - 09:35:44Ulster Television was today said to have renewed its interest in a merger with Virgin Radio owner SMG.
The Times said UTV has approached SMG with a merger proposal to create a media group worth around £400m (€592m).
It comes just three months after SMG turned down two “unacceptable” merger offers from talkSport owner UTV.
The first offer proposed a nil-premium merger while the second offered SMG a slightly bigger share of the combined company.
They were both rejected because SMG’s market value was significantly higher than UTV’s, making it a bad deal for SMG. However, UTV is now worth £200m (€296m) while SMG is worth £175m (€259m) – making a merger more attractive.
The Times said the latest proposal was for a nil-premium merger. SMG shares rose by 2% today, while UTV was off by almost 2%.
Click to stay connected with
more stories like this:
more stories like this:
