The deal was given the green light yesterday when the Office of Fair Trading said it would not be referring the deal to the Competition Commission. Ofcom has also cleared the deal, but said that Emap would have to take steps to avoid being in breach of ownership rules with its local Scottish digital licences. Emap looks like it may have to sell either the Glasgow or Ayr licence to comply with regulations.
Emap first sparked talks of a takeover bid in January last year, when it bought a 27.8% stake in SRH for £90m. At the time, SRH denied that Emap was interested in a complete takeover of the company. But with the market consolidating, highlighted by the merger of GWR and Capital Radio earlier this year, it became more likely that SRH would have to sell to its larger rival.
The deal will see Emap take control of SRH stations including Radio Clyde and Radio Forth, which it will combine with its existing radio assets, which include Kiss FM and a number of stations based on magazines such as Smash Hits and Kerrang!.
Tom Moloney, chief executive of Emap, said: "The Emap radio strategy is based on strong brands, wide distribution, and outstanding content.
"The addition of the SRH stations strengthens Emap on all three of these criteria and creates an even stronger independent local radio business. This is an exciting time for commercial radio and Emap is in a strong position to achieve market leadership."
He added that he looked forward to working with SRH chief executive David Goode, who will be running the stations in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
In a related move, Johnston Press said that it had completed its acquisition of local newspaper group Score Press from Emap for £155m. Emap acquired the titles as part of the SRH deal.
Shares in SRH are set to be delisted from the London Stock Exchange on September 8.
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