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Barrington and Raycom Announce
Completion of Transaction for Twelve Television Stations
MONTGOMERY, Alabama, HOFFMAN ESTATES, Illinois and NEW YORK, New
York - August 11, 2006 -- Barrington Broadcasting Group and Raycom
Media, Inc announced today that they have completed a transaction for
Barrington to acquire twelve Raycom television stations in nine markets
for a combined purchase price of $262 million.
The stations acquired by Barrington include five NBC affiliates (WNWO-TV,
Toledo, OH; WSTM-TV, Syracuse, NY; WPBN-TV and WTOM-TV, Traverse
City-Cheboygan, MI; and WLUC-TV, Marquette, MI), three FOX affiliates (WACH-TV,
Columbia, SC; KXRM-TV, Colorado Springs, CO; and WFXL-TV, Albany, GA),
two UPN affiliates that will become CW affiliates in the fall (WSTQ,
Syracuse, NY and KXTU, Colorado Springs, CO), one CBS affiliate (KGBT-TV,
Harlingen, TX) and one ABC affiliate (KTVO-TV, Kirksville, MO).
In making the joint announcement, K. James Yager, Chief Executive
Officer of Barrington stated, "This mix of strong local stations blended
with stations poised for significant growth represents a great
opportunity for Barrington. Today starts a new chapter in the history of
our company. Our management team under the guidance of Chris Cornelius
and Warren Spector have been looking forward to welcoming these new
stations and their employees into our operations for quite some time,
and we’re very excited that this day is here.”
Paul McTear, Raycom President and CEO, added that “these are wonderful
stations in great markets. We are fortunate that we were able to find
such a good partner in Barrington. We wish Barrington, our former
employees, and our customers all the best in the future.”
In concert with the transaction, Barrington closed on a $172.5 million
bank loan and $125 million bond offering to underwrite the cost of the
acquisition and replace existing debt. The financing was arranged by
Bank of America and Wachovia Securities.
Barrington was formed in 2003 to acquire and operate television stations
in smaller markets across the United States. Its financial sponsor is
the Pilot Group whose partners include Robert W. Pittman, Howard Lipson,
Mayo Stuntz, and Robert B. Sherman. Since 2004, Barrington, with funding
from the Pilot Group, has acquired eight other network affiliated
televisions stations and a local marketing agreement for a ninth
station. Concurrent with this announcement, Barrington stations will
cover more than 3.4% of U.S. television households.
Raycom, an employee-owned company, is one of the nation’s largest
broadcasters and currently owns and operates 49 television stations in
22 states. Raycom stations cover more than 12.7 % of U.S. television
households and employ 4200 individuals in full and part-time positions.
In addition to television stations, Raycom owns Raycom Sports (a
marketing, production and events management and distribution company in
Charlotte, North Carolina); Raycom Post (a post production facility in
Burbank, CA), Broadview Media (a post production/telecommunications
company based in Montgomery, AL), and CableVantage (a cable advertising
sales group based in Columbia, SC).
For further information contact:
K. James Yager
Barrington
Broadcasting
President
(847)
884-1877 |
Paul McTear
Raycom
Media, Inc.
President and
CEO
(334) 206-1450 |
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The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe
harbor" for forward-looking statements. Certain information contained
herein or in any other written or oral statements made by, or on behalf
of Raycom or Barrington, is or may be viewed as forward looking. The
words "expect," "believe," "anticipate" or similar expressions identify
forward-looking statements.
Although Raycom and Barrington have used appropriate care in developing
any such forward-looking information, forward-looking information
involves risks and uncertainties that could significantly impact actual
results. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to,
the following: changes in national and local markets for television
advertising; changes in general economic conditions, including the
performance of financial markets and interest rates; competitive,
regulatory, or tax changes that affect the cost of or demand for the
Company's products; delays in completion of the proposed sale due to
delays in securing necessary consents and regulatory approvals, and
adverse litigation results. Raycom and Barrington undertake no
obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future developments, or
otherwise.
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