Back in 2004 Flying Bear Media bought what’s now KNGY-FM for $33.7 million, which seemed like a pretty normal price at the time. It’s now being sold to Ed Stolz for $6.5 million.
Flying Bear, headed by Joseph Bayliss, was a pretty typical buyer. It had backing from Alta, Western Presidio and Thomas Weisel’s Tailwind. With the nation in recession, radio ad revenues plunging and station values falling, those private equity funds are cutting their losses.
Veteran broadcaster Ed Stolz has created Golden State Broadcasting to buy the Class A standalone on 92.7 MHz for $6.5 million. He recently purchased two stations in Las Vegas for $15.25 million. There he is using the name Silver State Communications.
RBR/TVBR observation: It seems some of the private equity investors are prepared to take their lumps and move on. That’s good news for bargain shoppers like Stolz. The problem is, there aren’t a lot of would-be buyers who have the financial resources he has to take advantage of this buyers market.
