Smooth FM, home to the golden oldies, is bid target

Smooth FM, the light music station serving as a kind of disc jockey’s retirement home for the likes of Donny Osmond and Simon Bates, appeared to be up for sale today as its owner, Guardian Media Group, received takeover offers of up to £50 million for its radio business.

The owner of the Guardian and Observer newspapers is believed to have received interest from Global Radio, which owns Capital, Heart and Classic FM, UTV Media, which owns Talksport, and a private-equity firm with its own management team lined up to take over the running of the business.

However, the price is way below the £118.9 million at which the business is valued in GMG’s accounts, raising the likelihood of a big writedown on the value.