The winning bidder in the auction of Young Broadcasting’s group of 10 stations, which includes KLFY TV-10, is scheduled to be selected tomorrow but may not be announced for a few days. That’s presuming—in a market where station values are plummeting—one of the bids even meets the minimum amount assigned, according to a story published today by Broadcasting & Cable.
If no party’s bid reaches the minimum assigned by Young and financial adviser UBS—a highly possible scenario, many believe—the bank would take over the stations in an equity-for-debt swap, insiders say, with an eye on dealing them in a better economic climate.
July 14 may well come and go without resolution for the Young group, which entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February. A similar auction was to occur in late June, but Young pushed it back three weeks to accommodate what it said was a flurry of late interest. “The Company wanted to ensure that these new potential investors have the opportunity to review sufficient information to enable them to participate fully in the investment process,” said Chairman Vincent Young in a memo to staffers, “and thereby maximize value for the Company and its lenders and creditors.”
Citing sources close to the deal, Broadcasting & Cable also reports that the rumor mill of interested suitors has come down to Oak Hill Capital, the money behind Local TV LLC, and an equity group known as H.I.G. Capital, which is not very well known in the broadcast community.
Young Broadcasting filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February. B&C lists the local CBS affiliate among the group’s strongest performers. Read the rest of the story here.