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Smulyan Bids To Take Emmis Private, Company Sells KKFR/Phoenix, WB18/Orlando
May 8, 2006 at 8:44 AM (PT)
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EMMIS announces a flurry of activity, including the sale of Top 40/Rhythmic KKFR (POWER 92.3)/PHOENIX to BONNEVILLE, the closing of the sale of Urban WHHL (HOT 104)/ST. LOUIS to RADIO ONE, the sale of WB (to be CW) affiliate WKCF-TV (WB18)/ORLANDO to HEARST-ARGYLE, and Chairman/CEO JEFF SMULYAN's proposal to buy all outstanding public shares of the company.
SMULYAN's bid is a non-binding proposal to buy the outstanding shares for $15.25/share cash, a 13.6% premium over the stock's FRIDAY closing price of $13.43. The deal values the total common equity of the company at $567 million and an enterprise value of $1.4 billion (including outstanding debt and preferred stock).
EMMIS' board has appointed a special committee to consider the offer; the deal requirtes shareholder approval, and is being backed by THE BLACKSTONE GROUP, BANC OF AMERICA SECURITIES, and DEUTSCHE BANK SECURITIES as SMULYAN's financial advisers and attorneys PAUL, WEISS, RIFKIND, WHARTON AND GARRISON as legal advisers to SMULYAN.
KKFR To Bonneville, Format To Simulcast Of Talker KTAR-A
The company is also selling KKFR to BONNEVILLE for $77.5 million. EMMIS acquired the station from CLEAR CHANNEL in AUGUST 2000 and swapped its other three PHOENIX stations to BONNEVILLE for WLUP/CHICAGO and $70 million in JANUARY 2005.
BONNEVILLE plans to flip KKFR to a simulcast of its Talk KTAR-A, echoing the company's spoken-word-on-FM moves in WASHINGTON and SALT LAKE CITY, with the possibility of moving the POWER 92.3 format to another frequency.
RADIO ONE' closing of the WHHL (formerly Adult Standards WRDA) deal converts the buyer's existing LMA (in place since SEPTEMBER) to a purchase. RADIO ONE paid $20 million for the station.
The WKCF sale was greatly anticipated as one of the last (and most successful) EMMIS TV properties remaining in the company's portfolio. HEARST-ARGYLE is paying $271.5 million for the station, which it bought in 1999 from original owner PRESS COMMUNICATIONS. After the deal, EMMIS will be left with two TV stations, also on the market: FOX affiliate WVUE-TV/NEW ORLEANS and CBS affiliate KGMB-TV/HONOLULU and its satellites and translators.
And the company announced that its filed run at purchasing the WASHINGTON NATIONALS cost it about $1.1 million, which reduces the previously-announced operating income for the year ended APRIL 18 by that amount.

