The stations acquired by Beasley in its epic swap with CBS late last year promise to expand the company’s financial footprint. For now, the challenge is getting them to that point.
There are a lot of positives to the deal which Beasley believes will have a long-term positive impact.
The CBS closing took place 12/1/14. Beasley picked up 14 stations in exchange for five, substantially increasing the company’s revenue base. It is expected to be accretive to SOI within 18 months of the closing date.
Caroline Beasley said that a big key to the transaction for Beasley was to increase its market-by-market consolidation level, opening the opportunity to take advantage of operational efficiencies. At this point, seven out of 12 Beasley markets are now at the legal ceiling for FM ownership.
Another key to the transaction was that it was done with zero impact on the company’s leverage profile. That, combined with the expectation of increased income, will allow the company to put renewed emphasis on leverage reduction.
George G. Beasley, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Looking forward, we are focused on ensuring that our station clusters match or exceed their market’s revenue performance while further strengthening our balance sheet. We are actively executing post-closing integration, programming, personnel, cost-efficiency and operating plans and results to date are tracking with our expectations. Our operating initiatives continue to focus on targeted localism and delivering quality programming, effective online marketing solutions and dedicated service to the listeners and advertisers in our markets. These strategies have created long-term value for Beasley Broadcast Group and we are confident that the application of our operating and programming disciplines combined with our commitment to build strong community involvement in our markets will support our goals for growth and the enhancement of shareholder value
