Support for GCap dismissal of Global bid

The decision by GCap Media chairman Richard Eyre to reject Global Radio's £300m takeover offer has won the backing of analysts and one of its biggest shareholders.

After Eyre rejected the Global offer without first consulting shareholders, there was speculation that he would be called to explain his actions to regulators and shareholders. But this was rubbished by some City experts.

A source close to Fidelity, one of the three biggest shareholders in GCap Media, with an approximate 15% stake, said it backed Eyre's rejection of Global's move.

Analysts said Global's bid, which at 190p per share added an extra 50% to the share value as of last Friday at 121p, was made to flush out potential rival buyers to pressure GCap into a possible sale in the future.

Newly installed chief executive Fru Hazlitt is expected to announce her strategy soon and will be hoping to win over the majority shareholders, including Daily Mail and General Trust and Schroders, which also each own around 15%.

Meanwhile, Global is expected to work at picking off the three big shareholders and attempting to curry favour ahead of a second bid, although it said this week it would "wait for an open door".

Richard Menzies-Gow, media analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, said: "In September, the share price was 240p and in November it was 170p, so it's a short time in which the shares have been hit. I think the market will correct itself."

Topics

Market Reports

Get unprecedented new-business intelligence with access to ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s new Market Reports.

Find out more

Enjoying ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s content?

 Get unlimited access to ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s premium content for your whole company with a corporate licence.

Upgrade access

Looking for a new job?

Get the latest creative jobs in advertising, media, marketing and digital delivered directly to your inbox each day.

Create an alert now

Partner content