Local Daily Media publishes online newspapers powered by its radio stations in each of the markets it serves.
That market roster is about to grow, thanks to a deal to acquire JAM Media Solutions‘ properties as that company completes a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding.
LDM, a unit of Williamsburg, Va.-headquartered Davis Media LLC, has agreed to purchase the following properties from Jeffrey Testa, who serves as the Chapter 7 trustee overseeing JAM’s debtor-in-possession resolution process:
- KMCS-FM 93.1, K236CF and KWPC-FM 95.1 in Muscatine, Iowa
- WCXL-FM 104.1 “Beach 104” in Kill Devil Hills, N.C., and WCMS-FM 94.5 in Hatteras, N.C.
- WVOD-FM 99.1 in Manteo, N.C.; and WZPR-FM 92.3 in Nags Head.
An $800,000 purchase price was agreed to. This reflects a substantial loss and a distress sale situation in a difficult climate for transactions. JAM’s Iowa stations were acquired from Prairie Communications for $965,000, while WCXL and WCMS were sold by Max Media for $1.75 million; a Max Media subsidiary sold WVOD and WZPR for $100,000.
As RBR+TVBR reported in October 2023, JAM, founded in 2018 by Jonathan A. Mason, had no choice but to move ahead with the liquidation of its assets in order to resolve its debt. Testa, of Newark-based law firm McCarter & English, became the court-appointed trustee. That decision came two months earlier, after a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition filed in October 2022 was converted to the more devastating Chapter 7 bankruptcy plan.
With creditors including Max Media, Prairie Communications-affiliated WPW Broadcasting, Broadcast Electronics and the major music licensing groups, including SESAC, GMR, BMI and the Radio Music License Committee, funds owed by JAM will now start flowing to them.
At closing, $650,000 will be wired to Testa; $150,000 will be retained to “correct any antenna, transmission line, lighting, structural or maintenance issues” at the WCMS-FM tower site, establishing a maintenance reserve.
A good faith deposit of $25,000 has been made by Davis Media.
The broker in this transaction is Media Sales Group, doing business as Hanna Unwired LLC.
Serving as the buyer’s legal counsel is Brad Deutsch of Foster Garvey P.A.
Operating as “Local Daily Media,” Davis Media LLC saw Treasurer/CFO Adam Crotty sign off on the agreement. Once the deal closes, the JAM stations will join WBQK-FM “Cannon Country 107.9” and WNTB-FM “93.7 The Dude” in the Wilmington, N.C., market; WUIN-FM “98.3 The Penguin” in Cape Fear, N.C.; and WTYD-FM 92.3 “The Tide,” which serves an area to the immediate north of Newport News, Va., and the Chincoteague peninsula of Virginia.
LDM will assume control of the JAM properties on Wednesday, May 1, via a Time Brokerage Agreement.
