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Boston, MA (July 26, 2006) -
Boston Ventures and Alta Communications today announced that one
of their portfolio companies, Television Station Group Holdings,
LLC (“TSG”),
has entered into a definitive agreement to sell station WTAJ Channel
10, the CBS affiliate in Altoona/Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to Nexstar
Broadcasting Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST) for $56 million. The transaction,
which is subject to FCC approval, is expected to close in the fourth
quarter of 2006.
In addition, TSG has completed the sale of television
station WBNG Channel 12, the CBS affiliate in Binghamton, New York,
to Granite Broadcasting Corporation (OTC: GBTVK) for $45 million.
“WTAJ
and WBNG are both top ranked television stations in their respective
markets and have been excellent investments for Boston Ventures
and Alta,” said Andy Davis, Boston Ventures
Managing Director. “Nexstar and Granite are great homes for
the stations, and we are confident that the stations will continue
to play active roles in their communities under this new leadership.” Copey
Coppedge and Barry Baker, both Boston Ventures Managing Directors,
are Directors of TSG.
Perry Sook, President and CEO of Nexstar Broadcasting
Group, said, “The
WTAJ acquisition reflects our focus on expanding Nexstar’s
portfolio with stations that have leading audience and revenue shares
and quality, highly rated local news programming. The acquisition
is also consistent with our clustering strategy whereby we seek to
operate multiple stations in our concentrated geographic regions.
Under Nexstar’s stewardship the stations will realize additional
retransmission revenues as well as synergistic operating improvements,
and on a pro-forma basis is immediately accretive to the company.”
W.
Don Cornwell, CEO of Granite Broadcasting, commented, “WBNG
is a very strong station with a long history as the market's leading
news provider and complements our other upstate New York stations
in nearby Syracuse and Buffalo. This acquisition is a terrific
fit with our stated strategy of capitalizing on our core strength
of operating news-oriented, Big Three network-affiliated stations
in the nation's mid-sized markets. We believe it is another positive
step in the execution of our strategic plan to realign our asset
mix and substantially strengthen our capital structure.”
About
Boston Ventures Management, LLC
Boston Ventures Management, LLC
is a private equity firm that has been an active investor and financial
partner to management teams in the media, entertainment, publishing
and information and communications sectors since 1983, earning
the firm a franchise position in the private equity community. Boston
Ventures’ Managing Directors and partners are accomplished
and experienced professionals who have a diverse and complementary
range of skills and a broad network of domestic and international
relationships. Some of Boston Ventures’ investments in its
20 year history have included News Corporation, National Enquirer,
CAMP Systems, River City Broadcasting, Survey Sampling International,
Six Flags Amusement Parks, Marshall & Swift, Panavision and
Motown Records.
About Alta Communications
Alta Communications is a Boston-based private equity firm which
focuses exclusively on opportunities in the media and telecommunications
industries. Alta’s partners possess over 100 years of collective
communications investment experience, making Alta the partner of
choice for several of today’s leading media and telecommunications
companies. Currently Alta manages $1.5 billion of aggregate capital
and is making new investments out of its $500 million Alta IX fund.
Please see www.altacomm.com <http://www.altacomm.com/> for
additional information.
About Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc.
Including pending acquisitions, Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc.
currently owns, operates, programs or provides sales and other
services to 49 television stations in 29 markets in the states
of Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Texas, Pennsylvania,
Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama and New York. Nexstar’s television station
group includes affiliates of NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX and UPN, and reaches
approximately 8.0% of all U.S. television households.
About Granite Broadcasting Corporation
Granite Broadcasting Corporation owns and operates, or provides
programming, sales and other services to 21 channels in the following
8 markets: San Francisco, California; Detroit, Michigan; Buffalo,
New York; Fresno, California; Syracuse, New York; Fort Wayne, Indiana;
Peoria, Illinois; and Duluth, Minnesota-Superior, Wisconsin. The
Company's channel group includes affiliates of NBC, CBS, ABC, CW
and My Network TV, and reaches approximately 6% of all U.S. television
households.
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CONTACT:
Tim Smith
Boston Ventures Management, LLC
(617) 350-1530
Patrick Brubaker
Alta Communications
(617) 956-1319
Perry Sook
Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc.
(972) 373-8800
W. Don Cornwell (CEO) or Larry Wills (CFO)
Granite Broadcasting Corporation
(212) 826-2530
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