Starcom Mediavest Group is among the largest media networks in the world and a part of France’s Publicis Groupe.
In a small town in Minnesota, StarCom LLC has served as the owner and operator of an AM/FM combo and an FM translator giving some “revitalization” to a station branded as “your dependable neighbor.”
The StarCom in Minnesota has just sold its radio stations. It’s crystal-clear who the owner is.
For the combined purchase price of $2.925 million, StarCom is selling the following stations to Crystal Media Group LLC:
- Class D KASM-AM 1150 in Albany, Minn., which features a Full Service and agricultural talk-focused format.
- FM translator K299BT at 107.7 in Albany, which rebroadcasts KASM.
- “Bob Country” KDDG-FM 105.5 in Albany, a Class A with 6kw.
Albany is to the west of St. Cloud, Minn., along I-94.
The deal is structured so that $1,623,000 proceeds of SBA Guaranteed Loan originated by MidWestOne Bank funding is due at closing.
Then, there will be the issuance of a $1 million promissory note, with 300 consecutive monthly installment payments.
Further, a second promissory note of $302,000 will be struck. This consists of 120 consecutive monthly payments after the SBA loan is paid in full.
Crystal Media Group is led by Managing Member Lucas Carpenter. StarCom is led by Dennis Carpenter.
Are they related? Yes. Lucas is the son of Dennis Carpenter and in 2015 handled all of the technical aspects of the StarCom stations. He was profiled in a St. Cloud Times story on HD Radio. The February 2015 report noted that Starcom began broadcasting in HD in fall 2014 “after work on the radio tower and the purchase of a digital transmitter — a ‘substantial investment’ in the ‘half million dollar variety,'” Dennis Carpenter said.
