Businessuite understands that the Trinidad-based One Caribbean Media Limited (OCM) has been in the Jamaican market hunting for a radio company to acquire. Among the entities apparently approached were Nationwide News Network, BESS100FM and KLASSFM. According to sources close to these discussions no deal has yet been struck and the search continues.

OCM a TT$664m company by assets came into existence in January 2006 following the merger of two Trinidad-based companies, Caribbean Communications Network Group that includes a television and newspaper entity and the Barbados-based Nation Corporation Group. The media group made profit of TT$69m at yearend December 2011, in reversal from a loss of TT$180m the previous year.

Last year, OCM launched the Caribbean Super Station (CSS) with broadcast facilities in Barbados, Grenada, St Lucia, Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, British Virgin Islands and St Kitts and Nevis. Jamaica by far the largest market in the English speaking Caribbean was missing from this lineup.

OCM executive officer Dawn Thomas in recent press reports said that “The concept of the CSS is to create and build bridges across the Caribbean and promote the rich talent of our artistes.”

Thomas is also reported to have said this week that OCM has negotiated the acquisition of another Trinidad-based radio station, Sidewalk Radio Limited, adding “this will facilitate the broadcast of the Caribbean Super Station (CSS) in Trinidad and Tobago for the first time”. This came following the announcement that CSS had also entered into an agreement for the acquisition of the Citadel Group, owners and operators of three radio stations in Trinidad and Tobago.

OCM gave no details of the amount of money paid for the two media houses and said that both transactions were subject to regulatory approval, “but it is not expected that this will give rise to any difficulty or cause undue delay in completing the transactions”.

It’s clear therefore that for this strategy to be successfully executed Jamaica has to be a part of the lineup. The big question now is, how much OCM and the Caribbean Super Station (CSS) are willing to pay to enter the Jamaican market?BM