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Welsh radio stations get new owner as part of Pounds 35m deal [Western Mail (Wales)](Western Mail (Wales) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TWO commercial radio stations in Wales are to come under new ownership following a deal believed to be worth about Pounds 35m. Subject to regulatory approvals Communicorp Group will acquire eight regional radio stations from Global Radio. They include Capital South Wales and Real Radio North Wales, which combined have 279,000 weekly listeners. The others are Smooth East Midlands, Smooth North West, Smooth North East, Capital Scotland, Real Radio Yorkshire and Real XS Manchester. The sale is taking place under the supervision of the UK's Competition Commission. Communicorp has been approved by the Competition Commission as a suitable owner of the divested stations. The sale is also subject to the approval of the Competition Authority in Ireland. Together the stations have 2.8 million listeners. Gervaise Slowey, Communicorp's chief executive, said: "We are delighted to add these popular radio stations to the group's stable. It's clear that the UK advertising market is buoyant and this move will make us the fourth largest commercial radio group in the UK from a standing start. "The brand licence agreement that we have in place with Global for Heart, Capital and Smooth will allow us to combine the clout of a national brand with local presence. "We feel this model will provide the best of both worlds to our listeners and our customers." (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |