PORTLAND (AP) – WMTW-TV, the ABC affiliate for southern Maine, will be sold to Hearst-Argyle Television Inc., which already owns TV stations in Boston, Manchester, N.H., and Burlington, Vt.
Hearst-Argyle Television will pay $37.5 million in cash. The deal is subject to Federal Communications Commission approval.
“We’re going from a wonderful family operation to the big leagues. It’s very gratifying. People are genuinely excited,” David Kaufman, executive vice president of WMTW Broadcast Group LLC, said Tuesday.
Hearst-Argyle already owns ABC affiliates in Boston (WCVB-TV) and in Manchester (WMUR-TV), bringing the potential for sharing of resources, Kaufman said. It also owns an NBC affiliate in Burlington (WNNE-TV).
Kaufman said he approached Hearst-Argyle after the Harron family that owns WMTW Broadcast Group told him it was ready to sell.
David J. Barrett, Hearst-Argyle Television president and chief executive officer, said the transaction advanced the New York company’s goal of further expanding into the New England market.
Hearst-Argyle, which owns or operates 27 TV stations, has a reputation for strong news operations, local programming and community involvement, said Jonathan Jacoby, a senior analyst at Bank of America Securities LLC in New York.
Hearst-Argyle’s investment has led to No. 1 or No. 2 news ratings in three-quarters of the local markets in which it operates, Jacoby said.
“They’re like the rock stars of local news,” he said.
WMTW, which began operation in 1954 and has been family owned for 37 years, is currently the No. 3 station for news in the Portland market, behind Gannett’s WCSH-TV and Sinclair’s WGME-TV.
WMTW also has an alliance with the Portland Press Herald in which the TV station shares weather reports and cross-promotion with the newspapers.
Kaufman, who believes Hearst-Argyle will invest in the local product, predicted good things following the acquisition.
“I think we’re going to move forward to the benefit of the market, the staff and our viewers,” he said. “Stay tuned.”
Hearst-Argyle purchased only the TV station, which has offices in Auburn and Portland. WMTW Broadcast Group’s five radio stations, including WMTW News Radio, were sold to New Jersey-based Nassau Communications in a separate transaction.
The New York company was in a good position to buy with plenty of cash reserves, said Victor B. Miller IV, an analyst at Bear Stearns.
The company still had cash for acquisitions after paying down senior debt and introducing dividends, and remains in a good position for additional acquisitions, Miller said in a statement.
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On the Net:
Hearst-Argyle http://www.hearstargyle.com/
WMTW news http://www.wmtw.com/
AP-ES-01-27-04 1653EST
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