MEDIA MARKETING:IN THE past few years, the radio sector has been characterised by consolidation, with big groups snapping up the smaller independents.

Currently nearing a conclusion is the sale of five local stations, the first time five stations with different owners have been sold off as a job lot.

The sale is being arranged by corporate finance boutique Raglan Capital, headed by Cathal Friel. He was involved in the 2007 disposal by Emap of its radio assets to Denis O'Brien's Communicorp.

That deal, and the subsequent sale by Communicorp of FM104 to UTV, left some unsatisfied underbidders still anxious to buy into the sector.

Friel then had the idea of trawling around the different owners of independent stations to see if there was an appetite to participate in a combined sale. The logic was to attract sizeable players who are looking for a large footprint in radio, not just a small slice.

For prospective buyers, there's the attraction of doing one single deal and one due diligence without the hassle of separate deal processes.

Five stations signed up to Friel's plan. They are Ocean FM in the northeast, MWR in Mayo, KCLR which broadcasts in Carlow and Kilkenny, Kildare's KFM and Tipp FM, owned by the Irish Press. Between them, the stations have a weekly listenership of 346,000 people and a sale price of around €50 million has been mooted.

Richard Findlay, the former chief executive of Scottish Radio Holdings who assembled Emap's radio stable in Ireland, has emerged as the likely buyer.

Local radio businesses tend to be very profitable but the slowing economy and increased competition from newspaper freesheets could see profit growth slow in the coming years. In the latest JNLR radio ratings, MWR and Tipp FM enjoyed gains but Ocean, KFM and KCLR recorded small falls in their weekly audience. It is expected the buyer of Friel's radio package will pay between 10 and 12 times operating profit before interest and depreciation. This is despite the fact that stations operate on a 10-year licence from the Broadcasting Commission that is sometimes not renewed, as was the case with North West Radio in 2004. When the Raglan deal is done, there won't be many standalone local radio stations left. South East Radio, Country, East Coast Radio, Midlands 103 and Clare FM are still ploughing a lone furrow.

Carlsberg puts its faith in Big Jack

JUNE IS looming and so is Euro 2008, with warm summer evenings and an excuse for guys to down copious quantities of beer.

Carlsberg is an official sponsor of Euro 2008, but with no Ireland team involvement, the marketing challenge for the company here is working out how to leverage the sponsorship.

This challenge is not new and in the past Carlsberg has been expert at forming an association with the sport, with such classic adverts as "Carlsberg don't do flatmates", "Carlsberg don't do dreams" and so on. This year the brand has turned to celebrity endorsement in the form of Jack Charlton, Johnny Giles and Mick McCarthy.

The ad is a play on the appointment of Giovanni Trapattoni as Ireland team coach and shows the former national team managers heading for the land of calico, where the beautiful game takes on a new meaning. The topical theme means the ad will have a short shelf life and the production isn't as lavish as some of the "Carlsberg don't do" efforts.

Developed by ad agency Irish International BBDO, the commercial was directed by Declan Lowney and filmed outside Barcelona.

The idea of bringing the former managers together came from agency creatives Shane O'Brien and Rachel Foley, according to BBDO's creative director Mal Stephenson.

Stephenson said Charlton even postponed a meeting with the pope to make the film shoot. He added: "It can be a nightmare getting celebrities together because they have busy schedules. These lads were co-operative and patient, even if Johnny Giles was amazed at the amount of retakes. At the end of the day's filming, the three managers would be out on the pitch playing three and in with the film crew."

siobhan@businessplus.ie