In June 2017, noted media broker Richard A. Foreman shared the news that all of Radio Vermont Group’s radio stations were up for sale. This would end the Squier family’s time as a radio station owner, which began in 1935.
On Friday, employees of the radio stations were told that a buyer has emerged.
It will mark a historic change in ownership for Class B WDEV-AM 550 in Waterbury, Vt., which was acquired by the Squier family in 1935. Later, in 1991, came Class C3 WDEV-FM 96.1 in Warren, Vt.; and WLVB-FM 93.9 in Morrisville, Vt. At the end of 2012, Radio Vermont added WCVT-FM 101.7 in Stowe, Vt., which it has owned since the late 1990s.
A trio of FM translators — W243AT-FM 96.5; W252CU-FM 98.3; and W273AM-FM 102.5 — most recently came into the mix.
Now, Radio Vermont has signed off on an agreement to sell the entire group of properties to Mermel & McLain Management LLC of Manchester, Vt. Mermel & McLain is known for office and residential real investments in the City of New York.
The sale was announced to Radio Vermont employees on Friday morning (1/2). General Manager Steve Cormier, Myers Mermel, and Scott Milne publicly announced the transaction live on WDEV at 12:35pm.
Ashley Jane Squier of the Radio Vermont Group said, “While these past couple months have been a sad time for our family, we are gratified to have found Vermonters to step up and continue the rich tradition of our treasured radio stations. During the last months of his life, my father Ken Squier was involved in our search for a buyer who would continue the independent radio legacy our family has built at WDEV and its sister stations for over 92 years. Beginning with my grandfather Lloyd Squier in 1931, the Squier family has been honored to serve Vermonters’ families and communities. We now feel confident that the stations will be in good hands to hold true to their legacy.”
Myers Mermel added, “We are thankful to the Squier family for their years of dedication to Vermont and to community radio. WDEV is the leading News/Talk/Sports station, and its community format builds social trust across our community. It keeps Vermont, and all its people, knit together. We look forward to continuing and enhancing community radio at WDEV with the same emphasis on even-handed reporting and commentary — as well as humor — which has been its hallmark.”
Mermel most recently was President of the conservative think tank Ethan Allen Institute and previously was a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate. Milne is the President of Milne Travel and has been a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor and governor.
