Private investment firm Forstmann Little & Co. signed a definitive agreement to buy radio broadcaster Citadel Communications Corp. for about $2 billion or $26 a share, including debt, the two companies jointly said.
The sale price, which includes assumed and refinanced debt, and preferred stock, represents a 49 percent premium on Citadel's closing price Friday of $17-1/2, the companies said. The Nasdaq market was closed Monday in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday.[Q
Citadel will own or operate 209 stations in 44 U.S. markets on completion of pending transactions, it said.
Forstmann Little will pay $1.5 billion from its own funds, plus $500 million through a bank financing from affiliates of J. P. Morgan Chase & Co. The financing will allow Citadel to pursue future radio station acquisitions and to fund internal growth, it said.
Forstmann Little's investment will provide us with the capital we need to support our stations and pursue our growth strategy, as well as to serve our audiences and the local communities in which we operate, said Chairman, President and Chief Executive Lawrence Wilson, who will continue to
run the company as no changes in operations are expected. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2001, following Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and shareholder approval.
Reuters