Indian company snaps up Virgin Radio May 31st, 2008

Scottish Media Group (SMG) has sold Virgin Radio to an Indian group led by the Times of India (TIML). The sale price of £53m is less than a quarter of the amount SMG paid for the radio station. A spokesman for the Indian group regards this as an excellent time to enter the UK media market and in particular by purchasing a good brand in the sector.

However the deal does not look too great for SMG who has made a big loss on the transaction. It seems SMG has some financial concerns as it is using the cash to pay off debt rather than for any strategic investment purpose.