PROVIDENCE, R.I. – LIN TV Corp. announced Monday that they have entered into an agreement to purchase certain broadcast and other related assets for 13 network affiliates (including 10 that are affiliated with ABC, CBS, FOX or NBC) owned by New Vision Television in eight U.S. markets.
That agreement includes KSNW-TV 3, in Wichita and its affiliated stations in central and western Kansas. They include KSNC-TV in Great Bend, KSNG-TV in Garden City, KSNK-TV in Oberlin, Kansas, and McCook, Nebraska, and low power station, KSNL-TV in Salina. KSNT-TV in Topeka is also included, but they operate independent of the Wichita operation.
The company is paying $330.4 million and the assumption of $12 million of debt. The company expects to close on the acquisition in late 2012, pending regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
Commenting on the announcement, the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Vincent L. Sadusky said: “We have been evaluating the M&A landscape for quite some time and selectively pursued New Vision Television as it adds geographical diversity, particularly in the South and Western U.S. New Vision Television has a reputation for operating high-quality, well-run media properties. This is a terrific opportunity to strengthen our mid-size market station portfolio and provide new markets to expand our digital businesses.”
“The deal is structured and financed in a way that preserves our financial flexibility and allows us to capitalize on significant synergies, as well as leverage our technical capabilities, corporate infrastructure and interactive growth platforms to benefit both our viewers and advertisers,” added Sadusky.
In addition to the Wichita based station, New Vision affiliate stations are located in Portland, Oregon, Birmingham, Alabama, Honolulu, Hawaii, Savannah, Georgia, Youngstown, Ohio and Mason City, Iowa.
The deal will mark a re-entry to Kansas for LIN, who briefly owned the licenses of rival KAKE-TV 10, the local ABC affiliate as well as its satellite stations in 2000, but never held operational control of the stations.