Sarita Jones, 10 June 2008
The Indian media company Bennett, Coleman & Co, which owns the Times of India newspaper, has acquired Virgin Radio in the UK for $106 million. SMG, the Scottish broadcasting company which owns Virgin Radio (it bought the company in 2000), sold the national AM licence and FM London licence to TIML Golden Square, a subsidiary of Bennett Coleman, and Absolute Radio, an Irish radio investor and consultancy. This is B&Cs first international acquisition and its first step towards an ambitious vision of creating a new music entertainment brand for the UK. It is also the largest acquisition to date by an Indian media company outside India.