GCap rejects improved £333m Global Radio bid

GCap Media, Britain's biggest commercial radio group, rejected an improved £333 million bid proposal from suitor Global Radio and won the backing of a major shareholder.

Global faces a deadline by Britain's Takeover Panel to formally declare its intentions, having pitched conditional offers to GCap first at 190 pence and now 202 pence per share.

GCap said Global came back to it on Thursday with its revised offer, which again was subject to conditions relating to due diligence and financing facilities.

GCap, headed by new chief executive Fru Hazlitt who recently unveiled her growth strategy for the business, noted that Global's new approach did not take account of the savings that could be generated from combining the businesses.

It added that the financing of the approach had question marks over whether it could be completed successfully.

GCap's three leading shareholders are key to the takeover battle given Daily Mail & General Trust, Fidelity and Schroders own nearly half of the company's shares.

"We are a long-term shareholder and happy to wait for plans for current management to come through," said Schroders fund manager Vincent Vinatier, referring to the recent strategy plan outlined by Hazlitt.

"We are happy with the plan. The synergies from merging such businesses have been significant and we don't feel the current offer reflects the value of the synergies," he told Reuters.

Schroders owns 16.1 per cent of GCap's shares.