Fru Hazlitt, the chief executive of GCap, had to come up with a cunning plan to defeat Global Radio's bid approach. Her eagerly awaited “defence document” was unveiled yesterday, to in-drawn breaths and scratched heads.

Ms Hazlitt is taking on not just Charles Allen but the entire radio industry. She has seen the future, and it does not include digital radio. GCap shareholders will be wooed this week by both Ms Hazlitt and Mr Allen. Shareholders' willingness to be seduced will depend largely on whether they believe that Ms Hazlitt is genuinely visionary, or is simply throwing the biggest idea she can think of at the marauding Mr Allen.

Ms Hazlitt's arguments are compelling. GCap would save £8.8 million a year by abandoning its commitment to digital radio. Spending on digital can be justified only if you are building a sustainable empire. Yet digital radio has been slow to catch on, especially compared with digital television. The Government's reluctance to commit to an analogue switch-off for radio has not helped the technology to thrive. In 2012, all televisions will be digital. By 2012, the signs are that the Government's working party on a radio equivalent will still be avoiding a decision.

In this planning vacuum, car manufacturers are reluctant to commit to installing digital radios, further undermining growth. While the tortoise of digital creeps towards ubiquity, Ms Hazlett believes that the internet hare will race past with streaming radio on its headphones. The argument may be strong, but Ms Hazlitt's approach is still a gamble. If she is wrong, GCap's decision to back away from digital while its commercial rivals and the BBC build stakes in the technology will backfire horribly.

When hindsight comes to judge the defence document, it will look either utterly brilliant or entirely absurd. But bidding battles are rarely won by defensive tactics. The shareholder presentations will be crucial. Ms Hazlitt's non-digital gamble may be bold, but it might just work.

antonia.senior@thetimes.co.uk

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