Global Radio offered to divest five stations in the Midlands, to allow its £375m acquisition of GCap Media to go ahead without referral to the Competition Commission by the Office of Fair Trading.
The stations involved are Heart 106 in the East Midlands, and GCap's BRMB, Beacon, Mercia and Wyvern in the West Midlands.
It is understood Bauer Media is now the preferred bidder, facing down competition from former Chrysalis Radio chief executive, Phil Riley, and Midlands radio entrepreneur Mike Owen.
A period of exclusive talks will now take place, but a deal has yet to be agreed.
Estimates on the value of the assets have varied because of the current economic climate. First priced at approximately £40m, other recent industry estimates are nearer the £15m to £20m mark.
Global Radio and Bauer Media declined to comment. Hawkpoint, the corporate finance firm brokering the sales, was unavailable for comment.
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