Two FM radio stations and one AM stations serving the Iron Mountain, Mich., area and three FMs and two AMs serving Marquette, Mich., are being sold in a transaction that has yet to be posted with the FCC.
The buyer is a group that has established itself as a formidable small-market operator with stations in Michigan and Wisconsin.
For an undisclosed price, AMC Partners — an Armada Media-related entity led by Terry Shockley and Chris Bernier — is purchasing the the following eight properties from Sovereign Communications:
- Class C1 WIMK-FM 93.1 in Iron Mountain, Mich.
- Class C3 WZNL-FM 94.3 in Norway, Mich.
- WMIQ-AM 1450 kHz in Iron Mountain, with 1kw
- Class C1 WJPD-FM 92.3 in Ishpeming, Mich.
- Class A WUPK-FM 94.1 in Marquette
- Class A WNGE-FM 99.5 in Negaunee
- Class D WDMJ-AM 1320 in Marquette, with 1 tower
- Class C 1kw WIAN-AM 1240 in Ishpeming
Sovereign is led by Bill Gleich. It also owns radio stations in the Newberry and Sault Sainte Marie regions of Northern Michigan.
Kalil & Co. served as the exclusive broker in this deal.
The Escanaba deal will help AMC build out a sizable cluster in the market. In late December 2014, it agreed to acquire from Lakes Radio WCHT-AM & WGLQ-FM in Escanaba, WGKL-FM in Gladstone and WTIQ-AM & WCMM-FM in Manistique, Mich., for $1.8 million.
Now, AMC will have five FMs and three AMs in the Escanaba-Iron Mountain area.
For Sovereign, it’s an exit from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula that’s nearly a decade in the making. In March 2010, it acquired the Escanaba and Marquette stations from David Simmons’ Northern Star Broadcasting in a $3,425,000 deal negotiated by Patrick Communications.
