A meeting of shareholders is to be staged later this month to decide whether or not to approve a £1.14 billion offer for Emap's consumer media and radio division.

If shareholders vote to approve the offer from German publisher Bauer, it will mean the end of a presence in Peterborough of Emap, which was founded in the city in 1947.

What do you think about the sale? E-mail business editor Paul Grinnell with your views and memories of the rise of the Emap empire at paul.grinnell@peterborough.today.co.uk.

An Emap spokesman said: "I can confirm that 51 per cent of shareholders have to vote in favour of the offer for the sale to take place."

A second meeting of shareholders will have to take place later on to decide the fate of a separate offer for Emap's business- to-business division, which includes its trade magazines and exhibitions section.

The offer of £1.2 billion has been made by Eden Bidco, which represents the Guardian Media Group and private equity firm Apax Partners. A date for this meeting has still to be fixed, but a 75 per cent vote in favour will be needed.

If both offers secure shareholders' backing, it will mean the break up of Emap, which employs 4,500 people worldwide – with about 700 working in Peterborough, mostly at its Lynch Wood base – on the consumer magazines, such as FHM and Grazia.

The planned sale of the company comes just six months after Emap directors announced they were reviewing the business, with options to include its break-up and sale.

But the move has generated opposition among some shareholders.

Former Emap managing director Sir David Arculus said that he had been approached by a group of shareholders who had been critical of the Emap director and wanted to see him replace the current chairman, Alun Cathcart.

Sir David said the board had lost its way and more value could be created by growing the business.

There are 215,842,000 Emap shares, with seven major shareholders each controlling between four per cent and seven per cent each.

Among the seven largest shareholders are Shroeders, Barclays, Legal and General and Aberdeen Asset Management.

The shareholders meeting will take place on January 25 at 11am at the Holiday Inn, Coram Street, London.