Scottish Radio Holdings is coming under increasing pressure to succumb to a £371m takeover bid from Emap.
Although
the SRH board has rejected the £10.40-a-share offer, claiming it
under-values the company, Emap could now return with a hostile bid.
Should Emap, which has a 27.8 per cent stake in SRH, succeed, there is
speculation that it has already agreed to sell SRH’s newspaper division
(Score Press) to Edinburgh-based Johnston Press.
However, also
believed to be interested in Score Press, valued at £100- £150m, are:
private equity company 3i; Guardian Media Group; Daily Mail &
General Trust, owner of the Press and Journal in Aberdeen; Newsquest
Media Group, whose Scottish interests include The Herald; and Forth
& Clyde Press, a division of the Dunfermline Press group, which has
been on the acquisition trail. DC Thomson could also emerge as a
surprise bidder Johnston Press is keen to make a major acquisition on a
par with its £560m deal for Regional Independent Media in 2002.
SRH owns three printing presses and 44 regional titles in Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland.
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