The Competition Authority has imposed nine conditions on the sale of majority stakes in Waterford-based radio stations WLR FM and Beat FM to Cork media group Thomas Crosbie Holdings (TCH).
In determination documents released yesterday, the authority gave its approval to TCH, publisher of the Irish Examiner, acquiring a 75 per cent stake in both WLR, a local station in Waterford, and Beat, a youth station that broadcasts to five counties in the southeast.
The remaining 25 per cent will be owned by Des Whelan, an existing investor in both stations.
The authority, however, imposed nine conditions on the transactions in a bid to ensure that the stations operate their advertising sales independently of each other.
The authority ruled that WLR and Beat should operate separate sales advertising teams. It also ruled that no "information concerning the sales of advertising or pricing policy" of the stations should be disclosed to the other party.
With the exception of Mr Whelan, no member of the management teams at WLR and Beat will be allowed to sit on the board of directors of the other station.
In a bid to monitor compliance, Frank O'Flynn of Cork commercial law firm O'Flynn Exhams, will act as an independent observer for the regulator.
Mr O'Flynn is to have access to the management and directors of both stations and to have access to any documents he requires to assess compliance. He will also have the right to attend both stations' board meetings. Mr O'Flynn will provide a compliance report to the authority within six months of the deal taking effect and on an annual basis from January 30th, 2009. Copies are to be supplied to TCH and Mr Whelan.
Anthony Dinan, TCH's group managing director, said his company was "quite happy" with the regulator's determination.
"We wanted to reassure them that we would have two sales forces in place," he said. "This isn't a problem for us because the stations are targeting different markets. One is a youth regional station, while the other is a local station in Waterford."
The deal was announced in May and TCH is believed to be paying €12-€15 million to acquire its majority stake in both stations, which have combined revenues of about €4.5 million. The deal includes a building in Waterford city, valued at €3-€4 million.
