When Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation’s Carolyn C. Smith passed away in 2012, ownership was the group’s assets were to be divided equally by her four sons. But local ownership caps stand in the way.
Hence the transfer of four stations in three markets to a CBC trustee.
The brothers, David D. Smith, J. Duncan Smith, Robert E. Smith and Frederick G. Smith, each inherited 1.75 of the seven voting shares, or 25%.
So the voting shares are going to CBC Trustee Michael Anderson.
The price is $405,650, with $101,410 going to each brother.
This all goes back to the passing of Carolyn C. Smith in June of 2012. She was the owner of Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation. Her control of all seven of CBC’s voting shares were inherited equally by her four sons, who cannot hold the licenses due to their stake in Sinclair Broadcast Group.
63 non-voting shares were also equally divided between the brothers equally and retained by them.
The brothers will also have a purchase option on the Anderson shares should the regulatory framework be modified in the future to allow them to hold the licenses.
This is basically an addendum to an earlier similar transfer, filed to account for acquisition of Cunningham which took place in the interim.
The stations include:
CW WBSF-TV Bay City MI, in the Flint-Saginaw-Bay City DMA.
ABC WGTU-TV Traverse City MI and ABC WGTQ-TV Saulte Ste. Marie MI in the Traverse City-Cadillac MI DMA.
Fox WYZZ-TV Bloomington IL in the Peoria-Bloomington DMA.
