The third time has proven not to be the charm for Monte Spearman and his High Plains Radio Network (HPRN), as a reengineered deal to sell a series of radio stations to E Radio Network LLC has failed to close, FCC documents reveal.
According to an asset purchase agreement shared by broker Hadden & Associates with RBR+TVBR on February 6, HPRN agreed to sell the following properties to E Radio Network LLC for $1 million:
- KDEL-FM – Arkadelphia, AR
- KVRC-AM – Arkadelphia, AR
- KZYP-AM – Malvern, AR
- KAFN-AM – Benton, AR
- K281CK – Sheridan, AR
- K257HA – Sheridan, AR
- KWPS-FM – Caddo Valley, AR
- KYXK-FM – Gurdon, AR
- KCMC-FM – Viola, AR
- KJMT-FM – Calico Rock, AR
- KRZP-FM – Gassville, AR
- KDAV-AM – Lubbock, TX
A $25,000 deposit was held by escrow agent Bill Whitley, who served as the seller’s broker.
At closing, $475,000 in cash was to be sent to Spearman’s group via wire transfer. The remaining $500,000 was scheduled to be honored in subsequent payments of $250,000, payable via wire transfer some six months and 12 months, respectively, after closing.
However, it is now known that E Radio Network, led by Christie Tate, will not be moving forward with the acquisition.
What happened, Charles Jayson Brentlinger in his role as Technical Consultant noted in FCC Special Temporary Authority requests for the stations that the onus is on E for failing to complete the purchase.
“Due to the failure of the Court Approved and FCC Approved Buyer to close on the purchase of the stations, and as the Buyer was the Local Marketing Partner the stations, HPRN (DIP) Stations must go silent until a new buyer, which is currently in process can be approved by the US Bankruptcy Court, and the FCC,” he wrote.
E Radio is the licensee of KGVL-AM in Greenville, Tex.; KIKT-FM in Cooper, Tex., and FM translators in Caddo Mills and in Commerce, Tex.
For Spearman, finding a buyer for the HPRN properties has been a nearly six-year challenge as the company seeks to emerge from debtor-in-possession status. HPRN declared bankruptcy in a Texas federal court, and any deal must meet court approval before it can close — regardless of Commission regulatory approval.
In early March 2020, just days before COVID-19 lockdowns and a pandemic would rattle the global economy, HPRN agreed to sell two AMs, two FMs and a FM translator in Arkansas to Broadcast Industry Group, led by Charles Jayson Brentlinger. That deal did not close. In July 2023, a reengineered deal that added an FM translator and seven additional full-power stations was agreed to. That transaction also ended up with a non-consummation notice.
