In July, Pittsburgh Radio Partners, led by longtime Three Rivers radio executive Frank Iorio Jr., agreed to purchase two AMs and their FM translators, and an FM serving the Pennsylvania city of Butler.
Now, he’s decided to sell the five broadcast facilities. The buyer? Look no further than a November 2020 deal that saw the sale of a Pittsburgh station once owned by Cecil Heftel and known for a brief time in the 1970s as “13Q.”
The following properties are being sold by Pittsburgh Radio Partners:
- WISR-AM, Butler, Pennsylvania (FCC Facility ID No. 7900)
- W298CW, Butler, Pennsylvania (FCC Facility ID No. 202563)
- WBUT-AM, Butler, Pennsylvania (FCC Facility ID No. 71241)
- W247DF, Butler, Pennsylvania (FCC Facility ID No. 202564)
- WLER-FM, Butler, Pennsylvania (FCC Facility ID No.71242)
The buyer is St. Barnabas Broadcasting, and that’s the licensee that acquired WJAS-AM 1230 a little more than two years ago.
Iorio’s Pittsburgh Radio Partners closed on its $1.8 million purchase of the stations on September 9.
Now, he’s making a nice profit, as St. Barnabas has agreed to pay $2.55 million for the quintet. Paperwork was filed at the FCC late Friday outlining details of the transaction.
A wire transfer in the amount of $1,422,500 has been paid to Iorio. Then, an amount of $1 million will be honored in a Promissory Note bearing 5% interest, with $550,000 payments due on the first and second anniversary of the closing date, respectively, plus interest.
A $127,500 escrow deposit applied to the purchase price has been made and is being held by Owen Law Group.
Serving as Iorio’s legal counsel in this transaction is Jamie Stone of Womble Bond Dickinson. Representing the buyer is Kathleen Kirby of Wiley Rein LLP.
WLER presently has a Rock format; while WISR airs a News/Talk format and WBUT features Classic Country programming.
St. Barnabas’ leadership of WJAS solidified its branding as “The Talk of Pittsburgh,” as it celebrates 100 years of broadcasting. As such, there could be no programming changes of significance at the Butler, Pa., properties upon closing.
