When it comes to the sale of Susquehanna Media (4/21/05 RBR #79), getting the money together to make a bid isn't the only thing to consider. There's plenty of equity and debt backing available for radio and cable acquisitions by established players. The question then is strategic - - who is the best fit for each property? And in some markets, there's also the question - - who can't buy these radio stations? Let's look at the possibilities, market-by-market.

San Francisco (2 AM/2 FM): Clear Channel and Infinity are full-up on the FM band. ABC and Bonneville could become much bigger players in the market, but Bonneville hasn't been a buyer in recent years. A couple of the big players absent from this market are Entercom and Cox Radio.

Dallas-Ft. Worth (2 AM/3 FM): Clear Channel, Infinity and ABC would all go over the legal limit with the entire package. Radio One could bulk up, but there's no format synergy. Entercom and Cox are not in the market.

Houston (1 FM): Just about anyone but Clear Channel and Liberman could tuck this standalone into their cluster. Infinity has already stated an interest. Cox, Radio One and Cumulus are also in market. ABC has only a Radio Disney AM.

Atlanta (2 FM): Infinity would kill to expand in Hotlanta. Joel Hollander's best-case scenario would be for Cox to buy all of Susquehanna Radio and have to spin-off these two signals in its hometown. Clear Channel is also full-up.

Cincinnati (3 FM): You know without looking that Clear Channel can't add anything in Cincy. Infinity can only add one FM. Radio One is in market, Cox and Entercom are not.

Kansas City (1 AM/3 FM): Entercom and Infinity can't add an FM. Cumulus is in market and this is a rare Clear Channel-free zone.

Indianapolis (3 FM): Entercom is a recent market entrant and looking to grow. Clear Channel is also light in Indy. Emmis can't take the full package, nor can Radio One. Once again, Cox is absent. Citadel is nearby, but not in market, and Arbitron #41 fits their buying profile.

York, PA (1 AM/2 FM): Under the new FCC rules, Clear Channel could enter York because its signals in nearby markets no longer count. Citadel is in market with a single AM.

Cable Systems: Just about any of the big MSOs would be interested in acquiring these systems serving 230,000 customers, then start swapping to rationalize regional clusters. The Susquehanna Communications systems are in York, PA; Williamsport, PA; Brunswick, ME; Rankin County, MS; Olney, IL; Duquoin, IL; Shelbyville, IN; Lawrenceburg, IN; and Carmel, NY.

The Pfaltzgraff Co.: Sorry, you'll have to check with Pottery Business Report (or some such thing). We don't have a clue who is likely to buy America's oldest pottery maker.

RBR observation:
We've already mentioned that Cox Radio is the ideal buyer, with public stock to keep the seller from getting hit with a big tax bite, minimal spin-offs in radio and a sister company to take the cable systems. The other really good fit that emerges from our market-by-market analysis is Entercom, although it wouldn't have a use for the cable properties. You can bet that Infinity is going to be a strong bidder for the most likely spin-offs. As for pricing, it looks to us like UBS can start the bidding for the radio package at about 1.2 billion and cable around 600 million.