Virgin Radio's new owner: Times of India

by Media Week, Media Week 03-Jun-08

- Times of India Group is acquiring Virgin Radio through subsidiary TIML Golden Square, which will run the radio station alongside its Absolute Radio business. The deal is Times of India's first radio venture outside of its own market

- Times of India is one of India's biggest media conglomerates with
interests in print, TV, radio, internet and events, managing some of
India's biggest media brands including Top Gear, Grazia, The Times of

India, the world's most circulated English broadsheet daily newspaper,

and The Economic Times, the highest circulation financial daily
newspaper in India

- It also operates Radio Mirchi, a 32-station commercial radio network
broadcasting in 10 languages across India, claiming more than 40 million
listeners, and Indiatimes.com, an internet portal with more than one
billion monthly page views

- Beyond radio and print, Times of India operates an English language
news channel in India and Times OOH, an Indian out-of-home advertising
company

- The company is owned by Bennett, Coleman & Co, one of the largest
media investors in India

- Bennett, Coleman & Co is partly owned by the Sahu Jain family, one of
India's most prominent families

- Absolute Radio owns Jack FM, Juice FM and FM 107.9 in the UK, and has
radio businesses in the US, Germany, Ireland, Hungary, Czech Republic
and South Africa.