Bauer Media Audio Ireland has entered into an agreement to buy iRadio, the youth music station serving listeners in the northeast, midlands and northwest.
The acquisition, which was for an undisclosed sum, is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approval, the company said, and will extend its total weekly radio reach to almost 1.9 million listeners.
The agreement follows Bauer’s completion of its deal to buy Cork station Red FM earlier this year.
First launched in 2008, iRadio is a semi-national radio station broadcasting to 15 counties: Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal, Monaghan, Cavan, Longford, Westmeath, Offaly, Laois, Kildare, Meath and Louth. It is the most listened-to station among 15-44 year-olds in those counties.
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Bauer Media Audio said it was “committed to working with iRadio, ensuring that it continues to meet the needs of its listeners and commercial partners by providing additional innovation and supporting the station’s long-term growth”.
The UK-headquartered radio company, part of German-owned multimedia empire Bauer, first entered the Irish market in 2021, when it acquired Denis O’Brien’s Communicorp Group, then the owner of Today FM, Newstalk, 98FM, Spin 1038 and Spin Southwest.
Chris Doyle, interim chief executive of Bauer Media Audio Ireland, said iRadio was a high-quality business that Bauer looked forward to welcoming to the company.
“Together, we’ll be able to ensure that the station can provide even more of the great content, music and entertainment that its audiences love.”
Willie O’Reilly, the chairman of iRadio, said the station was now “ready to embark on a new chapter” as part of Bauer Media Audio.
“Its best days lie ahead,” he said.
