The sale will be used to finance a portion of the purchase price for the previously announced acquisition of 13 network affiliates (including 10 that are affiliated with ABC, CBS, FOX or NBC) in eight U.S. markets owned by New Vision Television.
LIN intends to offer to eligible purchasers, subject to market conditions and other factors, $290 million of its Senior Notes due 2021. The notes will be guaranteed by LIN TV Corp. and LIN Television Corporation’s wholly-owned subsidiaries. LIN plans to offer and issue the notes only to qualified institutional buyers.
The price for the whole deal was $342.4M, $12M of which is in the form of debt assumption.
The markets in the deal include Portland, OR (DMA 22); Birmingham, AL (DMA 39); Wichita, KS (DMA 67); Honolulu, HI (DMA 71); Savannah, GA (DMA 92); Youngstown, OH (DMA 110); Topeka, KS (DMA 136); and Mason City, IA (DMA 153).
LIN’s footprint in US TV households is now 10.6%, with 50 network affiliates in 23 markets.
LIN’s other markets include Albuquerque, Austin, Buffalo, Dayton, Fort Wayne, Grand Rapids-Battle Creek, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Lafayette IN, Mobile-Pensacola, New Haven-Hartford, Norfolk-Portsmouth, Providence, Springfield MA and Terre Haute.
