Radio group Bauer completes deal to buy Cork’s Red FM

Bauer Media Audio has completed its acquisition of Red FM, adding the Cork station to a stable of Irish radio businesses that also includes Today FM, Newstalk 98FM, Spin 1038 and Spin Southwest.

UK-based Bauer Media Audio, part of German-owned media conglomerate Bauer, said Red FM will be in a position to “leverage enhanced digital expertise” as part of the group and that the completion of the transaction brings its audience reach to more than 1.9 million listeners a week.

Bauer entered the Irish market in 2021 by acquiring Denis O’Brien’s Communicorp radio group. It announced its intention to purchase Red FM for an undisclosed sum in November 2022, having agreed a deal with its owners.

The previous majority shareholder in the station was Vienna Investments, a company owned by Pearse Farrell and Bernadette Keogh. Before the sale, The Irish Times also held a 17.6 per cent stake in the company the station, having acquired it in 2018 as part of its acquisition of the Irish Examiner and other assets.

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In Cork, Red FM has a 20.7 per cent share of peak-time listening, according to the most recent figures from the Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) survey, putting it neck in neck with the 20.9 per cent share held by Cork’s 96FM, which is owned by Wireless Group, part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

“Red FM is now ready to embark on a new chapter, and I’m sure that as a valued part of Bauer Media Audio, the station will continue to soar to even greater heights,” said Red FM chief executive Diarmuid O’Leary.

Bauer Media Audio Ireland chief executive Simon Myciunka said the station was “a great addition to our portfolio”.

The company says it has 61 million weekly listeners across its European markets, which also include the UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Slovakia and Portugal.