Global to acquire GCap for £375m

GCap's board of directors intends to unanimously recommend Global's new £375m bid for the radio group to its shareholders, it was announced tonight.

Global had offered 190p per share for GCap in December and 202p per share in February. Both approaches were rejected, but the new approach of 225p per share has been accepted by the GCap board.

In a statement, Global chairman Charles Allen said: "We are delighted that the board of GCap has unanimously agreed to recommend our acquisition of GCap. We believe that this is a very strong business with brands and assets that are highly complementary to those of the Global Radio Group. We are excited by the opportunity to build on GCap's position as the leading commercial radio player and are committed to providing the best platform for both our advertisers and listeners."

Among the assets to be brought together under the new company are GCap's flagship station Capital 95.8 and Global's key national brands Heart and Galaxy.