The price, disclosed in a filing with the FCC last week, is on the high side of the $400-$500 million range brokers ball-parked the deal at shortly after it was announced. The sale includes 63 stations across 11 markets including Atlanta, Miami, Houston, Tampa, Jacksonville, San Antonio, Tulsa, and Nassau-Suffolk, NY. The deal also includes Cox’s national TV rep firm CoxReps and Cox’s Washington, D.C. news bureau operations.
Apollo’s filing with the FCC shows the sale price includes a $75 million promissory note held by CMG parent Cox Enterprises. Apollo previously struck a $3.1 billion deal to buy Cox’s television station group, including the radio-TV-newspaper combination in Dayton, OH. Cox Enterprises will retain a minority stake in the broadcast company and it will have the right to name one board member. The new entity will keep the Cox Media Group name and remain headquartered in Atlanta.
In order to comply with FCC ownership limits, two stations—alternative “97X” WSUN in Tampa and CHR “Power 95.3” WPYO in Orlando—will be placed in the Elliot Evers-run CXR Stations Trust.
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