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All of Maine’s Clear Channel radio stations are under contract to be purchased by a private radio company based in Florida, according to an e-mail sent from Clear Channel Radio to its Maine employees.
GoodRadio.TV LLC, a new company based in West Palm Beach, Fla., has agreed to purchase at least 180 small-market Clear Channel stations nationwide, including 17 in Maine.
“Though an agreement for sale has been signed, the sale is subject to standard regulatory approvals. We anticipate the sale of your stations to be finalized by mid-year, but it could be earlier or later,” John Hogan, president and CEO of Clear Channel Radio, said in the e-mail dated May 1.
Bangor stations WKSQ, Kiss 94.5; WVOM Voice of ME; WBFB The Bear; WWBX B97; WABI Radio AM 910; WLKE Lucky 99; WFZX 101.7 The Fox; and WGUY 102.1 will be sold.
The Augusta, Waterville and Rockland group of stations – WABK-FM 104.3; WFAU-AM; WIGY-AM; WKCG-FM Star 101.3; WTOS-FM Rock 105; WCME-FM; WMCM-FM Real Country 103.3; WQSS-FM 102.5 The Peak; and WRKD-AM Fox Sports Radio – also are included in the deal.
The purchase price was not included in the e-mail, nor was there any information about GoodRadio.TV’s future plans for the stations and the 40 full- and part-time Clear Channel employees in Maine. Staff at GoodRadio.TV could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Larry Julius, market manager for Clear Channel Radio Bangor, said Wednesday he could not confirm or comment on the sale. A spokesman in Clear Channel’s corporate offices in San Antonio said the same, but referred inquiries to a Clear Channel-owned Web site, insideradio.com.
A post on the Web site said Dean Goodman, owner of GoodRadio.TV, and his partners expect to acquire 180 or more Clear Channel stations nationwide.
“At least some CC [Clear Channel] stations have already heard from San Antonio that GoodRadio.TV LLC is their future owner and that fits what we’ve been rumoring for several weeks,” the Web site stated Wednesday.
The transfer of station licenses is subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission. FCC spokesman Clyde Ensslin said the time between application and approval can vary, and he declined to offer an estimate of how long the transaction would take. Applications for license transfers were not posted on the FCC Web site as of Wednesday.
A separate application GoodRadio.TV filed with the FCC on March 1 indicated the company is located in West Palm Beach, Fla.
On March 15, Bangor Clear Channel station WVOM-FM 103.9 announced it had signed an agreement with Black Bear Sports Properties to become the flagship station for UM sports. In a previous interview, Julius said the new owners of the station would be bound to that agreement.
Clear Channel announced Nov. 16 that 448 of its 1,150 radio stations nationwide were up for sale.
The company also announced Nov. 16 its separate decision to accept a buyout by a private equity group led by Boston-based Bain Capital Partners LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP.
Clear Channel has since been lobbying its shareholders to approve the buyout offer, which was sweetened in an effort to win over some skeptical large shareholders. The offer totaled $19.35 billion in cash plus $8 billion in debt assumption. Two-thirds of shareholders must vote in favor at the meeting next week.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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