Three groups interested in FM104

Three groups are believed to have expressed an interest in acquiring Dublin-based youth radio station FM104 following the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) decision on Monday not to sanction its sale to Denis O'Brien's Communicorp.

It is understood that the approaches have been made to UK media group Emap, which is planning to sell FM104, national station Today FM and Highland Radio in Donegal to Mr O'Brien for €200 million.

Under the terms of the sale agreement, however, Mr O'Brien is required to handle any sale of FM104 that might be stipulated by regulators.

The approaches are believed to have come from underbidders for the Emap stations. These included TV3; Vienna Investments, which is headed by FM104's former chief executive Dermot Hanrahan; UTV; The Irish Times Ltd; and a group comprising UK private equity player Vitruvian Partners and Richard Findlay, a former head of Scottish Radio Holdings.

Belfast-based broadcaster UTV, which owns five radio licences in the Republic, confirmed to The Irish Times that it would be interested in acquiring FM104 if it were placed on the market. UTV bid for the three Emap stations and also attempted to acquire FM104 earlier this decade when it was owned by a consortium of Irish investors.

The Competition Authority has yet to give its verdict on Mr O'Brien's proposed takeover of Emap's three Irish stations. This is expected at the end of October.

Informed sources said FM104 could be worth up to €45 million. Emap paid €30 million in equity and debt to acquire FM104.

According to an information memorandum circulated to interested parties earlier this year, FM104 had earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of €3.5 million in the year to the end of March 2007. That represented growth of 27 per cent on the previous year. The station had total revenues of €9.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 14 per cent on 2006. This gave it a healthy Ebitda margin of 37 per cent.

FM104's revenues last year included a contribution of €208,000 from its Fás-sponsored Roadhog and €142,000 from Flycatcher Media, which operates the mabefriends.com internet dating agency. For the year to the end of March 2008, its Ebitda is projected to rise to €4.6 million off revenues of €10.6 million.