U.S. broadcast-station mergers and acquisitions reached $4.47 billion in Q2 2017, according to estimates from Kagan, a group within S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The top radio deal was the $82.8 million sale of KPWR(FM) Los Angeles from Emmis Communications to Meruelo Media. The transaction was the largest single radio-station sale since 2012 and represents nearly 34% of the quarter’s $245 million radio deal total.
The second-largest radio transaction was the radio portion of Sinclair’s Tribune Media acquisition, which Kagan estimates is valued at $58.4 million for Chicago’s WGN(AM) and the programming of one additional FM station. This was part of a deal which also included Tribune’s 44 TV stations — the fourth largest TV deal in the 21st century; the total was $3.94 billion in cash and equity and the assumption of approximately $2.70 billion in net debt (and $3.76 billion is estimated to be the value of the TV assets).
Saga Communications expanded its radio business this quarter with the third-largest radio deal, paying $23 million to Apex Media for seven FM stations, one AM and four translators. However, the company also sold off its six owned-and-operated stations and three LMAs to Morgan Murphy Media for $66.6 million, exiting the TV industry.
The TV segment contributed $4.22 billion of the total, with $3.82 billion coming from just one deal.
