Cuatrecasas advises Bauer Media Group on completing acquisition of Media Capital Rádios

Cuatrecasas has advised Bauer Media Group, Europe’s leading commercial radio operator, on completing the acquisition of Media Capital Rádios. Announced on 8 June 2022, the completion of this acquisition marks Bauer Media Audio’s entrance into the Portuguese market, expanding its existing audio business into nine countries.

Media Capital Rádios, the leading radio group in its region with a weekly reach of over 4.5 million listeners, will become known as Bauer Media Audio Portugal. The Group holds four out of the ten most listened to radio stations in Portugal, and with the addition of this market leading portfolio, including Rádio Comercial (most popular Portuguese radio station), M80, Cidade FM, Smooth FM and Vodafone FM, Bauer Media Audio’s weekly reach will extend to more than 61 million listeners.

Handling the legal aspects of the transaction was a multidisciplinary Cuatrecasas team led by partner João Mattamouros Resende (Corporate and M&A, member of the German desk), and including partners Joana Mota Agostinho (Intellectual Property, Technology, Media, and Communications) and Pedro Marques Bom (Competition and EU Law).

The team also had the support of counsel Ana Helena Farinha (Tax), and associates João von Funcke, Tânia Alves and Francisco Cruz Almeida (Corporate and M&A), Luís Bordalo e Sá (Competition and EU Law), Tiago Martins de Oliveira (Tax), and Liliana Almeida de Moura (Labour and Employment).

This announcement follows the 2021 acquisitions by Bauer Media Audio in Slovakia, Ireland and Finland. The deal in Portugal had been announced in February 2022 and had then been pending on the usual requirements in this type of transaction, including the mandatory regulatory authorisations.

As stated on the official press release issued by Bauer Media Group, “this acquisition plays an integral part of Bauer Media Audio’s strategy as it continues on its path to become a global audio pioneer innovating in listener and advertiser services. The Portuguese market is attractive and presents strong opportunities for growth, which Bauer Media Audio will foster through its wider scale and innovation, for which the business is recognised across Europe”.