Acme Selling Albuquerque TVs For $17.3M

Acme Communications is selling CW affiliate KWBQ, satellite KRWB and MNT affiliate KASY in Albuquerque-Santa Fe, N.M. (DMA 45) to Tamer Media, pending FCC approval. The combined purchase price for the three stations’ assets is approximately $17.3 million in an all-cash transaction.

Tamer is a company founded by John S. Viall Jr., who has 47 years of experience in the broadcast industry and the transaction represents Tamer’s first TV station acquisition.

These are Acme’s only remaining stations; it has been divesting for a number of years. It still owns the syndicated lifestyle TV program The Daily Buzz.

LIN Media, which has a shared services agreement with Acme, will acquire certain non-license assets, which it will use to continue supporting the stations’ operations.

Acme said the FCC is expected to approve the assignments by the end of 2012, or early 2013. The agreement is also subject to approval by Acme’s shareholders.

Commenting on the transaction, Doug Gealy, ACME’s acting CEO, said: “We are delighted to be in a position to sell our remaining television stations. This proposed transaction obviously puts us in the final phase of successfully completing our process of monetizing our assets, with only our Daily Buzz operation remaining. Upon the completion of this transaction, we plan to distribute virtually all of our cash to our shareholders. In the meantime, we will continue to pursue opportunities to monetize our remaining asset.”

Viall said: “I am excited about the opportunity to enter broadcast ownership and to provide a compelling program service to the viewing public in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe marketplace.”

CobbCorp served as adviser to Acme.