Sale of Communicorp closes a chapter for Denis O'Brien

Subject to approval by regulators, Ireland’s largest commercial radio group will be sold to German media giant, Bauer Media Group

The acquisition marks the end of Denis O'Brien's involvement in the Irish media market. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Irish radio group Communicorp, which includes the Today FM and Newstalk, is to be acquired by German media giant Bauer.

The deal is understood to be worth more than €100m and if approved by regulators would mark the end of Denis O'Brien's involvement in the Irish media market.

The O'Brien-owned Communicorp is Ireland’s largest commercial radio group with a weekly audience of more than 1.75m listeners. As well as Today FM and Newstalk, it operates regional stations — Spin 1038 and 98FM in Dublin and Spin Southwest in Limerick alongside digital radio station Off The Ball, digital audio exchange, audioXI, and audio aggregation platform, GoLoud.

The acquisition marks the entry of Bauer into the Irish market, extending its audio business to eight countries. 

Newstalk broadcaster Pat Kenny is one of the big-name broadcasters in the Communicorp group of radio stations which have a combined weekly audience of 1.75m listeners. Picture: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

Paul Keenan, president of Bauer Media Audio, said more than 80% of the Irish population listen to the radio every week

"The industry makes a vital and much-valued contribution to the country’s rich cultural landscape. Communicorp’s award-winning radio stations are reaching record listening highs, and the combination of these highly valued audiences offered, alongside fast-growing and innovative digital brands, means they are well-positioned to capitalise on the future development potential of the wider world of audio."

Staff at Communicorp were told of the news yesterday morning. 

The company's chairperson, Lucy Gaffney, said: “Communicorp has been at the forefront of Ireland’s media industry for over 30 years and this agreement marks the culmination of an exciting and dynamic journey, which has enhanced and transformed radio in Ireland. 

Hundreds of incredibly talented and special people, both in front of and behind the mic, have made that journey possible and I want to thank them for their enormous contribution to the company.

Communicorp entered the Irish media market in 1989, securing a licence for Dublin radio station 98FM in 1989 and acquiring a majority stake in Newstalk in 2004. 

In 2007, the company acquired Today FM along with Highland Radio and 104FM for €200m with the media landscape benefitting from the surge in advertising spending during the Celtic Tiger years.

In 2006, O'Brien also began acquiring shares in Independent News & Media (INM) becoming the company's largest shareholder in 2012. 

In 2017 Communicorp banned journalists from The Irish Times from appearing on the company's radio stations following a column by Fintan O'Toole which said NewsTalk was "systematically sexist".

Post-crash shakeout

Following the economic crash in 2007, the media landscape in Ireland changed dramatically with many companies witnessing significant falls in value. 

In 2019, O'Brien sold his 29% stake in INM and the company was sold to Belgium media company Mediahuis.

The sale of Communicorp ends O'Brien's involvement in Irish media however he continues as chairman of the mobile phone network Digicel which maintains a dominant position across 16 Caribbean countries.

Strong results for Mediahuis

Separately, media group Mediahuis, the parent company of Independent News & Media, said it delivered a strong performance last year despite the impact on advertising revenue caused by Covid-19.

The company said its news sites, which include the Irish Independent and Belfast Telegraph, registered unprecedented numbers of visitors due to the pandemic. Both titles saw the introduction of digital subscriptions last year with Independent.ie ending the year with more than 30,000 subscribers.

The company, which also operates in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, recorded a turnover of €990.5m and an operating profit of €121.9m.

What does the Bauer Media Group do?

• The Bauer Media Group is one of the world's largest multimedia organisations operating more than 600 magazine titles, 400 multimedia digital sites, and 50 television and radio stations.
• Headquartered in Hamburg, the family-run conglomerate employs more than 11,000 people in 17 countries.
• The company's radio arm, Bauer Media Audio, which has acquired Communicorp, operates more than 110 brands across the UK, Poland, Slovakia, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway. 
• The company says it reaches more than 55m listeners daily.
• Bauer's publishing arm is Europe’s largest magazine publisher with flagship titles including Empire, Bella and TV Choice in the UK, along with Cosmopolitan in Germany, Maxi in France, and Women's Way in the US.
• Having built up a number of magazine titles in New Zealand over recent decades, Bauer announced last April that it was closing its business in the country, saying it took the decision because magazine publishing was suspended in New Zealand as part of the country's level 4 restrictions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. 
• “We understand the New Zealand government’s decision to move to Covid-19 level 4, but it has put our business in an untenable position," the company said at the time.
• "Publishing in New Zealand is very dependent on advertising revenue, and it is highly unlikely that demand will ever return to pre-crisis levels." 
• Bauer also operates a variety of online comparison website across Europe along with marketing and communications services to help small businesses grow.