The book is about to be closed on the ill-fated foray into TV ownership of Multicultural Broadcasting, known for its multilingual radio group. Its attempt to expand into the video service failed, and now a deal has been filed with the FCC by NRJ Holdings to acquire WSAH Bridgeport CT following an auction process handled by brokerage Kalil & Co.
The station is currently licensed to MTB Bridgeport-NY License LLC Debtor-in-Possession, headed by Lee W. Shubert.
NRJ has already bought two other former Multicultural properties, including KCNS in the San Francisco DMA for $15M and WMFP in the Boston DMA for $5M, both in Kalil-brokered deals. NRJ also recently struck again with an unrelated $13.5M deal for WTVE Reading PA in the Philadelphia market.
The acquisition, termed a credit bid in the contract, is good for $12M.
NRJ is headed by Ted B. Bartley and Robert G. Andrews, and lists among its investors Titan Broadcast Management (U. Bertram Ellis Jr. and J. Daniel Sullivan) and Drumcree LLC (W. Lawrence Patrick and Susan Patrick).
Multicultural’s ill-timed acquisition of five stations from E.W. Scripps cost it $170M back in 2006.
Earlier station sales from the Multicultural group included WOAC Cleveland for $7M and WRAY Raleigh-Durham for $4M, and adding in the three NRJ buys and the total recouped in the bankruptcy sales amounts to only $43M.
