PORTLAND – WMTW-TV, the ABC affiliate for southern Maine, will be sold to Hearst-Argyle Television Inc., which already owns TV stations in Boston, Manchester, N.H., and White River Junction, Vt.

Hearst-Argyle Television will pay $37.5 million in cash. The deal is subject to Federal Communications Commission approval.

“We’re going from a wonderful family operation to the big leagues. It’s very gratifying. People are genuinely excited,” David Kaufman, executive vice president of WMTW Broadcast Group LLC, said Tuesday.