ATLANTA, May 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Gray
Television, Inc. ("Gray," "we," "us" or "our") (NYSE: GTN and
GTN.A) announced today that it has reached an agreement with
Withers Broadcasting Company to acquire WDTV (CBS) and WVFX
(FOX/CW) in Clarksburg, West
Virginia, for $26.5 million in
cash.
WDTV is the second highest rated and grossing television station
in the Clarksburg-Weston designated market area or DMA according
to Nielsen and BIA data. For the past several years, Withers
has owned and operated WDTV and WVFX as a legal duopoly, under an
FCC Failing Station Waiver, an arrangement that Gray expects to
continue. The Clarksburg-Weston market is the 169th largest
DMA.
"WDTV/WVFX present a perfect addition to Gray's existing cluster
of top television stations serving Virginia, West
Virginia, Kentucky and
Tennessee," said Kevin Latek, Gray's Chief Legal and Development
Officer. "As a result, this acquisition will allow increased
collaboration in news, sales and community service across the
entire region, which in turn should benefit all stakeholders –
viewers, clients, employees and investors alike."
Dana Withers, President of
Withers Broadcasting Company, said, "The challenges facing family
owned television stations led us to conclude that only a larger
company can move WDTV/WVFX to the next level. Gray's investments
and leadership in this region make it the best possible owner for
the stations, and we are excited for the opportunities Gray will
bring to our employees and community."
The transaction advances Gray's strategy of enhancing
shareholder value through select acquisitions of highly rated
stations that share the culture and values of our existing
television stations. The transaction purchase price represents a
multiple of approximately 5.9 times a blended average of the
stations' 2015-2016 expected broadcast cash flow adjusted for
expected synergies. As such, we anticipate that the acquisition
will be immediately free cash flow accretive to Gray. Gray plans to
finance the transaction with cash on hand.
The transaction is subject to receipt of regulatory and other
approvals. We plan to close the acquisition in multiple steps
between June 2016 and a date after
the conclusion of the pending FCC spectrum auction, subject to
certain contingencies and possible price adjustments.
Larry Patrick of Patrick
Communications represented the seller in this transaction.
About Gray Television:
Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE: GTN and GTN.A) is a television
broadcast company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, that owns and operates
television stations and leading digital assets in markets
throughout the United States. We
currently own and/or operate 92 television stations across 50
television markets that collectively broadcast approximately 180
program streams including 35 channels affiliated with the CBS
Network, 26 channels affiliated with the NBC Network, 19 channels
affiliated with the ABC Network and 13 channels affiliated with the
FOX Network. We own number-one or number-two ranked television
station operations in essentially all of our markets, which
collectively cover approximately 9.4 percent of total United States television households.
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SOURCE Gray Television, Inc.