GCap CEO to reveal strategic plan

LONDON (Reuters) - GCap Media Chief Executive Fru Hazlitt faces her biggest test since taking over the top job at the country's biggest commercial radio company when she unveils her strategic plan for the business on Monday.

After outlining her initiatives for GCap via a public statement before the London market opens, she will go into the detail with shareholders and analysts during the morning.

Her plan will be scrutinised by those already invested in the group as well as supporters of privately owned Global Radio, which approached GCap with an indicative bid just days before Hazlitt took up the CEO post on December 20.

GCap, which owns stations such as Classic FM, Xfm and London's Capital 95.8, has rejected Global's preliminary approach saying it significantly undervalues the business.

Global's offer valuing GCap at about 313 million pounds was pitched at 190 pence per share, which is close to where the shares closed on Friday.

Hazlitt and Global, headed by former ITV Plc CEO Charles Allen, have been in talks with GCap shareholders in recent weeks discussing the merits of their respective positions.

Global, which unsuccessfully bid for the radio assets of media group Emap Plc in December, wants to buy GCap as part of its acquisition strategy in the UK radio industry. Allen's Global is home to the Heart 106.2 and Galaxy stations.

According to a report in the Financial Times on Saturday, Hazlitt is expected to announce plans to sell GCap's 67 percent share in the Digital One multiplex - the pipework of transmission technology that is the only one of its kind broadcasting commercial stations nationally in Britain.

A report in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper said Hazlitt is expected to concede that GCap's gamble on digital radio has not paid off, and detail a cut in the company's 16 million-pound spend on the loss-making format. The newspaper said a deal was currently being negotiated with Hampshire-based masts company Arqiva to help reduce digital transmission costs.