By: Paul Dionne | Vizzda
Pursuant to an FCC-mandated asset sale in connection with
its $2.2b acquisition of Belo Corporation, Gannett Corporation—parent company
for The Arizona Republic, Tucson Citizen, KPNX-TV and KNAZ-TV—has sold the television
stations KTVK-TV in Phoenix and KMOV-TV in St. Louis to Meredith Corp. The
$2.2b acquisition was tendered as $1.5b in cash and assumption of $715m in
existing debt.
KTVK-TV is an independent station on Channel 6; a second
Phoenix station—CBS-affiliate KASW-TV on Channel 5—was sold to SagamoreHill
Broadcasting with a service agreement between SagamoreHill and Meredith. The
divestiture by Gannett—necessary to comply with FCC regulations regarding
concentration of media ownership—was valued at $407.5m.
As part of the sale, Meredith acquired the office complex
that serves as the headquarters for both of the Phoenix stations for $9,878,335
or $110.58 per square foot in an all cash deal. The two 2-and-3-story buildings
total 89,335 ft2 and are located at the northeast corner of 7th
Avenue and Missouri Avenue. The buildings were built in 1974 and 1982 on a 4.67
acre site zoned C-2 and P-1.
To Contact the Author:
Paul Dionne – pdionne@vizzda.com
