LADUE, MO. — Lawyers representing a group of terminated volunteers and associates of embattled and bankrupt KDHX-FM in St. Louis have filed an amended objection to the station owner’s motion for an order that would authorize the sale of the KDHX license, tower, and other non-real estate assets.
The objection was filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, which conducted an auction May 31 via Zoom that saw a bidding war emerge between K-Love Inc. and Gateway Creative Broadcasting, parent of “Joy FM” and “Boost Radio.”
It was reported by RBR+TVBR that Gateway emerged as the winning bidder in a fierce competition that saw the final agreed-to purchase price soar. But, the League of Volunteer Enthusiasts of KDHX has a stern warning to the court: while Gateway says it won the auction, “this was only a procedural auction,” the group asserts. “It was not a sale. The sale must still be approved by the Court, hence this critical objection.”
The objection is based on the belief by the volunteer enthusiasts that the votes taken by Double Helix, the corporate parent of KDHX, to authorize the proposed sale violate Missouri law and are void.
At first, K-LOVE was believed to have secured at $4.35 million purchase of KDHX. Then came a competing offer from Gateway, followed by court-approved auction. At the auction’s conclusion, an $8.5 million purchase from Gateway became apparent, pending the court’s OK.
The volunteer enthusiasts don’t want that approval.
“There is no need to rush this sale pursuant to U.S. law (11 U.S.C. § 363),” they claim. “It is impossible for any offer to purchase KDHX’s FM license and tower to be the best offer, even if it is the highest, because any such sale will violate KDHX’s essential purpose as a non-profit community radio station.”
There is a feasible, well-funded alternative, they assert, one that “will preserve the station and return it to its former charitable activities.” What would that entail?
The pro-KDHX group wants the court to deny the motion to sell, terminate the exclusivity period, and set a new hearing in 90 days. “This will allow so a coalition of civic, business, music, arts, volunteer, and donor representatives to present a final, fully-funded Alternative Restructuring Plan,” the volunteer enthusiasts state.
Another group, LOVE of KDHX, has been working as a part of this coalition to realize and fund this plan. “The Coalition is well on the way to its funding goals,” the enthusiasts state.
A hearing on these matters will be held on Monday, in St. Louis.
Download the amended objection filing.
