Branson bid for Absolute Radio in £20m takeover

By JON REES
Updated: 17:21 EST, 4 June 2011

Station master: Frank Skinner has been one of Absolute's star names

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group could team up with the owners of Absolute Radio to take control of the station in a deal valuing it at £20million.

It is understood that Times Infotainment Media (TIML), a subsidiary of the Times Group – India’s largest media company and owner of The Times of India – may retain a stake in the station after it is sold, having acquired it from Scottish Media Group in 2008 for £53.2million.

The sale seems likely following a review of the business. Jefferies bank has been appointed to handle the auction.

If the Branson deal goes through, it would put him back in charge of the station he created in 1993 and which bore the Virgin name until 2008. TIML did not buy rights to use the Virgin brand and changed the name to Absolute, before developing a number of digital stations and signing celebrity presenters such as Frank Skinner.

Global Radio has pulled out but Branson and UTV Group, which owns the radio station Talksport and the Ulster ITV franchise, are understood to be bidding.

But Absolute is likely to be valued at far less than TIML paid. Latest available figures, for 2009, reported a loss of £4.3million, and TIML took a £7.9million writedown on the value of its UK radio business. Its continuing annual losses are understood to be in the high single digits.

Nevertheless, UTV is thought to be keen to acquire the company, since it could make considerable cost savings by merging it with Talksport. Virgin, meanwhile, could revive the Virgin Radio name, which it has retained for its radio stations overseas.

Absolute has an FM licence for London and a national AM licence for England, Scotland and Wales as well as various digital stations.