Friday, August 30, 2013

Official: Cumulus To Buy Dial Global

Townsquare To Buy 53 Cumulus Stations

Cumulus Media Inc. has announces a series of strategic transactions that it says solidifies the its position as a leading producer of high quality content and continues to reshape its radio footprint focused on the top 100 markets.

The transactions announced today include:
  • Acquisition of Dial Global, Inc. for $260 million in cash (consisting of approximately $45 million attributable to equity and the retirement of $215 million of debt)
  • Sale of 53 radio stations in 12 small & mid-sized markets to Townsquare Media for $238 million in cash (inclusive of the acquisition of net working capital)
  • Swap with Townsquare Media of 15 radio stations in two small & mid-sized markets in exchange for the receipt of five stations in Fresno, CA (market #68).
“These transactions give us the necessary scale to provide the marketing and enterprise solutions our advertising and affiliate partners require,” said Lew Dickey, CEO of Cumulus.

Lew Dickey
“Our goal is to be the leading producer of premium audio content distributed through multiple platforms while continuing to build our broadcast platform in the top 100 U.S. markets.”

The acquisition of Dial Global will add sports, news, talk, music and programming services content – enabling Cumulus to provide a wider variety of options to approximately 10,000 U.S. radio stations, other media platforms and international platforms. New content acquired through the Dial Global acquisition will include NFL, NCAA, NASCAR, Olympics, AP Radio News, NBC News and other popular programming.

Cumulus expects the transaction to be deleveraging based upon identified cost synergies of approximately $40 million, with additional upside from revenue growth potential through the creation of new content vehicles for broadcast radio advertisers. Additionally, Cumulus believes the opportunity exists to distribute premium, curated audio content across emerging new media platforms. Further, Cumulus intends to service broadcasters’ demands for premium content and enterprise solutions in Europe, the Americas and Australia.

The transactions are expected to close simultaneously following regulatory approval
in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Jones Day is acting as legal counsel to Cumulus and Macquarie Capital is acting as financial advisor to Cumulus. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is acting as legal counsel to Dial Global.

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