Nexstar, Mission acquire two Binghamton TV stations

BINGHAMTON — Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST) and Mission Broadcasting, Inc. on Monday announced agreements to acquire five television stations in four markets, including two outlets in the Binghamton market.

 

The companies expect the transactions, totaling more than $103 million, will immediately add to earnings in the first full year of operations following closing, the companies said in a news release.

 

Under the terms of the purchase agreements, Mission will acquire two stations in Binghamton from Stainless Broadcasting, L.P. for $15.25 million in a transaction structured as an asset-purchase agreement.

 

The stations are WICZ-TV, Binghamton’s Fox affiliate, and WBNP-LP, a MyNetworkTV affiliate.

 

Mission will finance the acquisitions through “internal sources,” borrowings under the existing credit facilities, and future credit-market transactions, the company said.

 

In addition, Nexstar will acquire stations in Des Moines, Iowa; Rock Island, Ill.; and Sioux City, Iowa from entities related to Citadel Communications, L.P. for $88 million and will immediately begin operating the three stations pursuant to a time brokerage agreement (allowing someone other than the owner to operate the broadcast outlet).

 

Nexstar will acquire the Des Moines station pursuant to a stock-purchase agreement, while the Rock Island and Sioux City station acquisitions are structured as asset-purchase agreements, the company said.

 

Nexstar’s and Mission’s planned acquisition of these stations builds “further scale and operating and financial leverage” and represents another “excellent” opportunity to expand their platform in “attractive, highly complementary markets,” Perry Sook, chairman, president, and CEO of Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc., said in the news release.

 

The Federal Communications Commission needs to approve the transactions. The companies expect to complete the purchase in the first quarter of 2014, they said.

 

Irving, Texas–based Nexstar Broadcasting Group owns, operates, programs, or provides sales and other services to 72 television stations and 13 related digital-multicast signals reaching 41 markets, or about 12 percent of all U.S. television households.

 

Mission Broadcasting is headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, according to its profile on the website of business publication Bloomberg Businessweek.

 

Mission is wholly-owned by an independent third party to Nexstar, according to a Jan. 19, 2011 news release on the Nexstar website. 

 

“Nexstar does not own Mission or any of its television stations.  Through various local service agreements with Mission, Nexstar Broadcasting currently provides sales, programming and other services to television stations that are owned and operated by Mission,” the company said in that news release.

 

 

 

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com