A deal by Mr Denis O'Brien which raised his stake in Dublin news station Newstalk 106 broke certain points of competition law, the Competition Authority said today.
The authority said Mr O'Brien's company, Radio 2000, failed to notify it of its intention to raise its stake in Newstalk within the time period set out in the Competition Act 2002. After a fresh round of re-financing Radio 2000 is now believed to hold a 59.6 per cent equity stake in News 106 Ltd, the company which owns the station.
The Competition Authority investigation examined how the investment in Newstalk by Radio 2000 might impact on advertising rates in the Dublin radio market.
The investigation was set up because one of Mr O'Brien's other companies, Communicorp Ltd, has interests in other Dublin stations Spin FM and 98 FM, and in Wicklow station East Coast Radio
The authority cleared the Newstalk transaction on March 5th after assessing the deal and referred the matter to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, for further consideration. The Department took no action in the ten days it is given to block the deal or refer it back to the authority for further investigation.
In publishing its judgment on the case today, the authority also judged that the deal had been put into effect before clearance had been received from the Authority.
Under the Competition Act, any merger or acquisition which is put into effect prematurely is void.