Four TV groups may be on the market, but don’t look for Fisher Communications to be added to them. Having fended off an effort by dissident shareholders to put the company up for sale, CEO Colleen Brown is sounding more like a buyer than a seller.
Asked about M&A during her quarterly conference call, Brown had this to say: “I think that we are4 completely open to a consolidation concept – whatever role Fisher may take in that. We have an extraordinarily strong balance sheet and that makes us, you know, in a really good situation. So, our board is very actively involved in the process and I think that it’s really hard. We’re right in that bubble time when, you know, do you look backward or do you look forward for the multiple – and the years that are used to determine the value? Frankly, I still feel strongly that this is a trough in the marketplace and I still think it’s a great opportunity to be a buyer and a bad time to be a seller.”
At the end of Q2 Fisher had $33.3 million in cash in its coffers. Total debt outstanding was $75.6 million, down from $101.4 million at the end of 2010.
