ellen sbgi makes no sense to me why the dumping? why the short position?
they keep making awesome deals and authorized share repurchase
here is latest deal they did
Sinclair to Buy Guy Gannett TV Stations for $310 Million;Deal Adds Six Stations in Five Markets for Sinclair
Expects to Sell Gannett's WOKR-TV Rochester, NY to Ackerley
BALTIMORE, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
(Nasdaq: SBGI) today announced that it has agreed to purchase the television
station assets of Guy Gannett Communications for $310 million in cash.
The acquisition is subject to FCC and Justice Department approvals and is
anticipated to be completed in the first quarter of 1999. In addition,
Sinclair announced that it expects to sell Gannett's WOKR-TV in Rochester, NY
to The Ackerley Group, Inc. (NYSE: AK). Sinclair already owns WUHF-TV in the
Rochester market.
David Smith, CEO of Sinclair, said, "The acquisition of the Gannett
stations strengthens station clusters in the Northeast and the Midwest, and
adds to our growing presence in Florida. The stations have excellent growth
potential. We look forward to working with the employees of the stations to
enhance the strong broadcasting tradition that Guy Gannett has built in these
communities, while bolstering the profit margins of the stations."
Barry Baker, CEO-Designate of Sinclair Communications, said, "The
acquisition of these stations also furthers Sinclair's strategy of
diversifying its network affiliations. From a financial perspective, the
acquisition multiple of 12.6 times projected 1999 broadcast cash flow is lower
than recent transactions announced by other broadcasters. The acquisition of
these assets also improves Sinclair's tax position and thus management expects
the transaction will be accretive to 1999 after-tax cash flow per share."
The stations Sinclair will be retaining from the Gannett acquisition are
as follows:
Market Market Rank Station Affiliation
Portland, ME 80 WGME-TV CBS
Champaign &
Springfield-Decatur, IL 81 WICS-TV NBC
WICD-TV (Simulcast) NBC
Cedar Rapids, IA 87 KGAN-TV CBS
Springfield, MA 103 WGGB-TV ABC
Tallahassee, FL 112 WTWC-TV NBC
The Gannett television stations WICS-TV and WICD-TV in Champaign &
Springfield-Decatur, IL, have overlapping service areas with Sinclair's
WYZZ-TV in Peoria, IL and KDNL-TV in St. Louis, MO. KGAN-TV in Cedar Rapids,
IA, has an overlapping service area with KDSM-TV in Des Moines, IA.
Consequently, Sinclair will apply for waivers from the FCC to allow Sinclair
to own each of these stations.
Sinclair expects to fund the transaction with a combination of bank
borrowings and the issuance of debt or equity securities. The Company may
also enter into divestitures of certain non-strategic assets to provide a
portion of the funding. The final composition of the financing will be
determined in the months prior to the closing of the transaction and will be
impacted by a number of factors. Such factors may include, but are not
limited to, the strength of the Company's operating performance, borrowing
availability under the Company's bank credit facility and conditions in the
capital markets.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is a diversified broadcasting company that
currently owns or programs 56 television stations and 54 radio stations. Upon
completion of all pending transactions, Sinclair will own or program 64
television stations in 42 separate markets and 51 radio stations in 10
separate markets. Sinclair's television group will reach approximately 24.4%
of U.S. television households and includes ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, WB and UPN
affiliates. Sinclair's radio group is one of the top 10 groups in the
United States. |
