Fargo Radio: Ingstad’s Buyer Was Aware of Swap Plans

Duke Wright

When Midwest Communications owner Duke Wright bought the six stations here owned by longtime Fargo radio magnate Jim Ingstad we wondered why a non-compete was included in the deal.  (See original posting, Click Here)  Turns out,  Wright knew Ingstad would soon be a competitor.

Wright told The Forum that he was well aware of Ingstad’s plans to turn around and buy the metro area’s other six-station cluster after sales of both stations were finalized within hours of each other late Tuesday night and Wednesday.

“He asked us if it would be OK. There isn’t any problem with it,” Wright said. “We’ve been in the business a long, long time, and we’ve been in some heavy competition. We like competition as long as it’s good.”

Ingstad sold his Radio Fargo-Moorhead cluster, which included KFGO 790 AM, to Wright for $25 million. Hours later, a separate sale of 30 stations owned by Triad Broadcasting in five different markets, including six Fargo stations, was completed with L&L Broadcasting, the Portland, Ore.,-based L&L said in a news release.

Later on Wednesday, L&L announced it would sell its six newly purchased Fargo stations to Ingstad for $9.5 million. Ingstad took immediate control of the former Triad stations through a local marketing agreement, but the sale is pending federal approval, L&L said in the release.

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