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Black Knight On The Way?

If I was “stuck” with Citadel stock, I would only sell out for an all cash deal. I would have already taken a “haircut” lending to an overleveraged media company. This would be like the first ABC Radio / Citadel deal where a minnow attempted to swallow a whale. The minnow’s management is a cost cutter but sooner or later this set of stations will have to “grow” revenue in very completive major markets. I do not think a leveraged “storm cloud” can service the debt and make the long term capitol commitment to pull it off.
 
Has any body has done “the math” on how much Citadel is worth if sold in pieces? Example the two Atlanta stations would be a good thing for either Cumulus or CBS to go toe to toe with Cox and CC.
 
I have 2,000 shares of Citadel which I would gladly give someone except that the glue is holding them rather firmly to the bedroom wall.
 
And they were what was handy at the time, for without the stock certificates there would be no bedroom wall.
 
Great. Citadel finally goes through the pain and turmoil of bankruptcy so it can shed an overwhelming amount of debt. Now Lew Dickey wants to take on a ton of debt to purchase Citadel, putting them right back where they were pre-bankruptcy. Isn't this the same Lew Dickey that created Cumulus Media Partners, backed by Bain Capital Partners LLC, The Blackstone Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P., so he could leverage the purchase of the Susquehanna stations? And isn't this the same Lew Dickey who swapped debt for equity, giving up majority ownership in order to avoid default?

Next, Dickey gets in bed with Crestview Partners - another venture capital firm - to spend another BILLION on radio stations that his company will manage, not own.

This is getting ridiculous. How many major radio groups do Bain & Lee have their tentacles into? They and other venture capital groups are playing the part of Mr. Potter in "It's A Wonderful Life" during the "run on the bank" scene. They're looking to scoop up hundreds of radio stations at a time when the pricing is uncertain at best. Where are the FCC and the FTC, who are supposed to be looking into these deals, and making sure that ownership caps are being adhered to? And does anybody think that concentrating the ownership of the majority of stations in so many markets in THEIR hands would be a GOOD thing for the industry, the people in the industry, or the product that they produce?
 
SirRoxalot said:
Where are the FCC and the FTC, who are supposed to be looking into these deals, and making sure that ownership caps are being adhered to?
Click to expand...

The sale hasn't even been agreed to, so the FCC has nothing to say. Once the sale goes through, then the license transers must be approved by the FCC. But it's a bit early to ask where they are when they don't have a role to play yet.

The big difference between Dickey and Citadel is that Dickey actually has put a lot of his own money into the pot. I think that's why he's been able to get credit where so many other companies can't.
 
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