Irish firm Communicorp has acquired Capital Scotland and seven more radio stations from Global Radio in a bid to gain traction in the UK market. The deal is valued at £35 million, according to Herald Scotland.

The move to sell the said stations was dictated by the Competition Commission. Global Radio had purchased the eight stations from Guardian Media Group in 2012 in a £70-million deal, the repost detailed.

Denis O'Brien, the owner of Communicorp, will gain 2.8 million listeners from the acquisition of Smooth East Midlands, Smooth North East, Smooth North West, Capital Scotland, Real Radio North Wales, Capital South Wales, Real XS Manchester, and Real Radio Yorkshire. Out of that number, 550,000 listeners are from Capital Scotland, the report stated.

The deal will make O'Brien the fourth biggest player in the UK's radio industry. Global Radio, Bauer, and UTV Media own the top ranks. Communicorp currently operates 19 radio stations across Ireland, Latvia, Jordan, and Bulgaria, Herald Scotland reported.