£53.2m Virgin Radio sale is approved
The £53.2m sale of Virgin Radio to the Times of India Group has been backed by shareholders of parent company SMG. The sale was approved at an extraordinary general meeting today and it will be completed by June 30.
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The £53.2m sale of Virgin Radio to the Times of India Group has been backed by shareholders of parent company SMG. The sale was approved at an extraordinary general meeting today and it will be completed by June 30.
The Times of India, with UK radio company Absolute Radio, bought the national commercial radio station at the end of last month. The deal ended months of speculation about the future of the rock and pop station.
The new owners have announced plans to invest £15m in relaunching the station with a new music and entertainment brand, which is set for the autumn. It is also looking to expand into social networking, downloads and gaming.
The station will be run by a subsidiary, Times Infotainment Media, and Absolute, which already owns the Jack FM station in Oxford.
SMG acquired the station for £225m from Chris Evans, the then owner and breakfast show DJ, in 2000.
