Millionaire rock and radio fan Malcolm Bluemel has financed the deal, supported by four British rock stars - Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi, Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, Thin Lizzy's Gary Moore and Marillion's Fish.
The consortium came together when thousands of fans were outraged by outgoing GCap chief executive's Fru Hazlitt's announcement on 11 February, that both the company's national digital-only stations, Planet Rock and theJazz, faced imminent closure if bidders did not come forward.
TheJazz closed on 28 March. However, Planet Rock garnered the interest of two parties and was kept on air for a further two months while negotiations continued. The other bidding party was fronted by Queen guitarist Brian May, who revealed on his blog that his consortium had missed out on the purchase on 30 May.
The change of ownership will take place with immediate effect, although the station will continue to be broadcasted from GCap's headquarters in Leicester Square until further notice.
Hazlitt also announced on the company's strategy day in February that GCap Media was to sell its 63% stake in Digital One. During the Global Radio takeover process, this move was halted by Global chief executive Ashley Tabor and the industry remains uncertain about what decision will be made over the national multiplex's future.
Tabor begins in his role as chief executive of GCap, taking over from Hazlitt, this week (6 June). He is expected to begin a series of talks with Nathalie Schwarz, chairman of 4Digtial, the second national multiplex, about the possibility of both multiplexes joining forces.
United Kingdom
British rock legends save radio station
LONDON - Planet Rock, GCap Media's national digital-only radio station, has been purchased for an undisclosed sum by a new company called Rock Show, backed by some of the biggest names in rock.
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