Shares in talkSPORT owner Wireless (WTG) rocketed by two-thirds after it agreed the £220m sale of the business to News Corp, owner of The Times and The Wall Street Journal. News Corp's offer of 315p a share represents a 69 per cent premium to Wireless's average share price for the three months before the deal was announced.
News Corp's directors expect Wireless's radio stations to appeal to the audience of The Sun, one of their most popular newspapers. They're also keen to leverage talkSPORT's audio broadcasting rights for top-flight football, expand Wireless's international presence and deepen News Corp's foothold in the UK and Ireland.
Wireless investors will still receive final and special dividends totalling 13.75p a share. Broker Numis expects pre-tax profits of £9m in 2016, giving EPS of 9.8p, rising to £14.5m and 17.5p in 2017 (from £10.7m and 8.6p in 2015).