One More Thing:Fru Hazlitt's honeymoon period as chief executive of GCap Media, the UK's biggest commercial radio operator, is well and truly over.
Hazlitt took the reins at GCap just three weeks ago but is already having to defend a £1.90-a-share offer from Global Radio, which is backed by Irish racing tycoons JP McManus and John Magnier.
Global, whose backers also include former ITV boss Charles Allen and successful racehorse owner Michael Tabor, is keen to add to its UK radio assets, having paid £170 million (€226 million) last June to buy Chrysalis, the number-three player in the market and owner of Heart and Galaxy radio stations.
The consolidation would no doubt throw up significant cost synergies, although some radio stations would probably have to be sacrificed to appease competition regulators.
Global is not short of funds, having put together £400 million for its failed attempt to buy Emap's radio division last year.
GCap, which numbers Capital 95.8 and Classic FM among its 55 licences, is attractive for many reasons. It has underperformed following the merger of Capital Radio and GWR in 2005, with operating margins below those of its peers.
Analysts have pencilled in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £21 million from revenues of £199 million for the year to the end of March.
Global's bid is a tasty 17 times GCap's enterprise value of £355 million. Sources close to Global say GCap's profits would have to treble to justify the price being offered. Analysts, however, believe this is eminently achievable.
GCap's board has argued that its share price was £1.90 as recently as October, but it went into freefall before news of Global's bid emerged and analysts were predicting that it could dip below £1 this year due to a tough advertising environment.
Hazlitt is due to present her own plan for the business in early February. She is under huge pressure, with some shareholders ticked off that GCap investors were not given an opportunity to consider Global's bid in detail.
The offer was made just days before Christmas but was kept under wraps by GCap's board until Monday.
It is understood that Global is planning to meet a number of GCap shareholders in the coming week.
With plenty of money in their pockets and time on their side, the odds are heavily stacked in favour of McManus and Magnier, although they might have to revise their offer upwards before entering the winner's enclosure.
