A cluster of radio stations in the San Antonio area have been sold at auction. The winning bidder happened to be the father and father-in-law of the debtors-in-possession who were ordered to sell by the US Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas.
Three of the stations are northwest of and beyond the San Antonio market, including KNAF-AM/KNAF-FM Fredericksburg TX and KFAN-FM Johnson City TX. The fourth, currently silent, is nominally in the San Antonio market. But even when it’s actually broadcasting, KEEP-FM Bandera TX doesn’t put a primary signal into the urbanized area, and its location more or less splits the distance between San Antonio and Fredericksburg.
The seller is Randolph N. Osherow, trustee for J&J Fritz Media Debtor-in-Possession.
The winner, in an auction facilitated by Media Services Group broker Bill Whitley on behalf of the trustee, is Hill Country Broadcasting LLC, headed by Norbert Fritz, described in documents as the father of Jayson Fritz and father-in-law of Jan Fritz, the two principals of J&J.
The winning bid was $700K, twice the amount of the #2 bid. The group is being sold “as is, with all faults.”
The court document is very specific about Jayson Fritz’s immediate role in the stations, saying that he “is expressly excluded from any control of partnership or trust.” Another condition states that neither Jayson nor Jan may work at the stations until such time as the sale is “fully funded and complete.”
The deal includes an LMA, under which Hill Country paid $14,961 on 5/1/11; $14,191 on 6/1/11, and is due to pay $13,361 on 7/1/11 and for each subsequent month until closing. The LMA fees cover payroll for two employees, as well as utilities, insurance and rent costs.
KNAF-AM is a Class D on 910 kHz with 1 kW-D, 174 W-N, ND; KNAF-FM is a Class C3 on 105.7 MHz with 9.1 kW @ 538’; KFAN-FM is a Class C3 on 107.9 MHz with 8.7 kW @ 551’; and KEEP-FM is a Class A on 103.1 MHz with 3.5 kW @ 430’.
