Media Headliner: Is radio's iron man tough enough to lead Global?(merging of Chrysalis Radio Group and Global Radio)

A challenging task awaits Phil Riley, the Chrysalis chief executive, following its takeover by Global Radio.

From an ad industry perspective, there are a number of pleasing aspects to Global Radio's proposed pounds 170 million takeover of Chrysalis Radio. For a start, it involves private equity. There's a growing consensus that plc ownership - and all the short-term revenue generating demands this implies - has not been at all good for the medium during the continuing radio ad market downturn.

Global's backers include John Magnier, the owner of Coolmore Stud in Tipperary, plus his business associates JP McManus and Dermot Desmond. A fourth Irishman, Denis Brosnan, the chairman of the Swiss-based private equity group Lydian Capital Partners, is also an investor.

And, yes, the Coolmore set are gamblers - but (if such a thing exists) they are the right sort of gamblers. They're inspired, ambitious, hate losing and have deep pockets.

Then there's the Charles Allen angle. The former ITV chief executive is fronting the bid, a fact that, many observers say, speaks volumes about Global's ambitions. And Allen knows a thing or two about meeting (or trying his best to meet) the demands of the advertising market.

But perhaps most pleasing of all, in some agency quarters, is the fact that Global's bid, should it be approved by Chrysalis investors, will actually represent continuity in management terms - because it locks in the current management team, headed by the chief executive, Phil Riley He deserves a break, they say, given the near-miracles he has worked to keep the group's main on-air brands - Heart, Galaxy and LBC Radio - punching above their weight against all odds.

What can he achieve when he is actually given some backing? Unfortunately, Riley can't go into this at length, having been debarred from detailed speculation until the deal is officially ratified by Chrysalis shareholders. But he will say this: 'As far as the brands are concerned, it's great news because we are being backed by owners who support the idea of a brand-led radio group.'