A Santa Barbara AM station is exiting the commercial world for the ivied halls of academia. California Lutheran University is getting an AM station to go with the FM it already operates in a neighboring market, and the seller just might get a tax benefit. The station is KIST-AM, coming in a $1.44M deal with seller R&R Radio LLC. CLU will pay cash for the station and will add it to a portfolio that already includes KCLU-FM Thousand Oaks CA, next door Arbitron-wise in Oxnard-Ventura. Here’s how the seller’s Saul Rosenweig may get some additional benefit: An appraisal of the station will done, and if it turns out that the sale price is considered to be a bargain, paperwork will be submitted to treat the excess value as a charitable donation, with the associated tax benefits accruing to the seller.
