Scripps to buy nine television stations from McGraw-Hill for $212 Million

October 4, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet
McGraw-Hill is to sell its nine-station Broadcasting Group to The E. W. Scripps Company for $212 million in cash.  The deal is structured as a purchase of stock but will be treated as a purchase of assets for tax purposes, resulting in tax deductions created through the transaction that will be used by Scripps to reduce the net cash cost of the acquisition. The transaction is expected to be modestly accretive to Scripps’ earnings in the first full year of operations of the acquired stations. Scripps intends to finance the transaction with new debt and has secured committed financing for the purchase price.

The Broadcasting Group includes ABC affiliates in Denver, Colorado (KMGH-TV), San Diego, California (KGTV), Bakersfield, California (KERO-TV), Indianapolis, Indiana (WRTV) and Azteca America affiliates in Denver, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs,San Diego and Bakersfield.  The five other stations involved in the transaction – KZSD in San Diego, KZKC in Bakersfield, KZCO in Denver, KZFC in Ft.Collins, Colo., and KZCS in Colorado Springs, Colo. – are low-power stations affiliated with the Spanish-language network, Azteca America.

The nine McGraw-Hill stations, which reach approximately 3 percent of U.S. households and generated revenue in 2010 of $97 million, have roughly 460 total employees.

“This is a terrific opportunity to enter some of America’s most dynamic media markets and tap into the growing Spanish-language marketplace at a very attractive price,” said Rich Boehne, Scripps president and chief executive officer. “The McGraw-Hill stations fit well with our strategy to create economic value through high-quality news and information content that serves both consumers and advertisers through linear television and the exploding array of digital communication devices.

“These stations came up for sale at a good time for Scripps,” Boehne said. “The deal is structured and financed in ways to protect the company’s financial flexibility and our ability to continue investing in emerging media business models. Through this acquisition, we now have the opportunity to extend our local news strategies into markets with big appetites for community-changing journalism.”

The acquisition of the McGraw-Hill stations will extend the Scripps relationship with ABC. With 10 ABC affiliates among its expanded roster of 19 stations, Scripps will be the country’s largest independent operator of ABC stations. The new stations join a Scripps portfolio that includes six ABC affiliates (in Detroit, Tampa, Fla., Cleveland, Phoenix, Cincinnati, and Baltimore), three NBC affiliates (West Palm Beach, Fla., Kansas City, Mo., and Tulsa, Okla.) and one independent (Lawrence, Kan.). The consolidated station group will reach approximately 13 percent of U.S. households.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC  acted as financial advisor to McGraw-Hill in the transaction.

USA, Cincinnati, OH & New York, NY

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