Emmis Sells Denver Stations

Emmis Communications Corp. plans to sell its Denver radio stations for $185.5 million. Subject to antitrust review, KALC(FM) would go to Entercom Communications Corp. and KXPK(FM) to Entravision Communications Corp.
Emmis Chairman/CEO Jeff Smulyan said the company’s main goal has been to reduce its debt levels.
Following Emmis’ losing bid for Tribune Broadcasting’s three Denver stations in December, industry insiders speculated that Emmis would most likely become a seller in the market. The three Tribune stations were sold to Entercom in a 3-year time brokerage agreement that published reports estimate to be worth $180 million.
“When the Tribune Co.’s Denver stations became available and we saw what kinds of prices were being offered for those stations, we realized that it made more sense to be sellers than to be buyers,” said Smulyan.
The Denver transactions, along with cost reductions the company has put into effect, including a 10% wage reduction in December 2001, have helped Emmis reduce debt, Smulyan stated. KALC and KXPK were expected to generate just $3.5 million this year. The sale price is $88 million for KALC and $47.5 million for KXPK.