HC2 Holdings, which amassed a sizable portfolio of low-power TV stations under former head Philip Falcone, has just shed the last vestiges of that era.
As of last week, it has a new name: Innovate Corp. The news arrived along with the company’s Q2 earnings report.
The name change, the New York-based outfit led today by CEO Wayne Barr Jr. explains, reflects a platform of “innovative infrastructure, life sciences and spectrum businesses.”
Fueling the end of the HC2 name is performance at its infrastructure portfolio company DBM. “Following its acquisition of Banker Steel, DBM recorded a record backlog of $1.6 billion at the end of the quarter,” said Avie Glazer, HC2’s Chairman. This outstanding performance was repeated in Spectrum, which had a record Adjusted EBITDA of $2.7 million.”
The Spectrum business is what fueled HC2’s buying spree, and what is dictating how it moves forward as a licensee of broadcast TV stations. While HC2 has shed several TV properties since mid-2020 with Greg Guy of Patrick Communications in the role of broker of record, the move was designed to refine its television and spectrum operation — not shed it completely.
In fact, HC2 remains the nation’s largest owner/operator of Class A and LPTV television licenses “with plans to add even more stations in the next several months.”
This suggests that many of the assets acquired under Falcone, now heading Sovryn Holdings, were simply not in concert with HC2’s monetization models.
How did HC2 Broadcasting fare in the second quarter of 2021?
Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter of $2.7 million was seen, swinging from an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $1.2 million in Q2 2020. “HC2 Broadcasting’s results for the quarter reflect the results of our efforts to improve operations and reduce costs across the platform, along with growth in Station Group over-the-air (OTA) revenues,” the company now known as Innovate says.
It is the third consecutive quarter of positive Adjusted EBITDA for HC2 Broadcasting.
As of June 30, HC2 Broadcasting operates 227 stations, of which 212 are currently connected to the company’s Miami-based CentralCast system. The HC2 Broadcasting footprint includes operating stations in 94 markets in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, including operating stations in 34 of the top 35 DMAs.
