News story

Global Radio and Guardian Media Group Radio merger not to be considered on media plurality grounds

皇冠体育app merger between Global Radio and Guardian Media Group (GMG) Radio will not be considered on media plurality grounds.

From:
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and 皇冠体育app Rt Hon Maria Miller
Published
11 October 2012
This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Former Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt issued an intervention notice on the merger between the two companies at the beginning of August.

皇冠体育app intervention, under Section 42 of the Enterprise Act 2002, required Ofcom to submit advice to the Secretary of State on the public interest consideration of media plurality arising from the merger.聽

皇冠体育app Culture Secretary has carefully considered and accepted Ofcom鈥檚 recommendation that the merger should not be referred to the Competition Commission on media plurality grounds.

皇冠体育app case now reverts back to a competition-only assessment with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) having to decide whether to refer the case to the Competition Commission.聽

皇冠体育app Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was also required to provide advice to the Secretary of State on the competition and jurisdictional aspects of the merger.聽

皇冠体育app OFT recommended the case should be referred to the Competition Commission on competition grounds but the decision now rests with the OFT.

Notes to Editors

  1. 聽(PDF 90kb)

  2. Read on when an intervention will be made on media plurality public interest grounds (PDF 72kb)

  3. Read the .聽 Commercially confidential material has been redacted.

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Updates to this page

Published 11 October 2012