The two former Multicultural Television stations are being sold by the trust that took control of them after they ran into financial trouble. The buying group is headed by Ted Bartley. The price was approximately $20 million, according to sources.
DMA 6 & 7 (UPDATED)
NRJ TV Buys KCNS San Fran, WMFP Boston
NRJ TV, a group headed by Ted Bartley, has purchased KCNS San Francisco and WMFP Boston from the trustee of Multicultural Television Broadcasting. According to sources, the price was $20 million for the pair.
Trustee Lee Shubert took control of the Multicultural stations on behalf of the creditors after Multicultural owner Arthur Liu ran into financial trouble and defaulted on loans.
The two independent stations are among five that Liu bought from Scripps in 2006 for $170 million.
Earlier, Shubert sold two of the five — WRAY Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and WOAC Cleveland — to Radiant Life Ministries. Pending FCC approval, he is also holding and seeking a buyer for WSAH New York (Bridgeport, Conn.)
Liu also owns a large radio group, but KHIZ Los Angeles will be his only remaining TV station.
NRJ TV has no other broadcast interests. [Editor’s note: The original posting of this story said that NRJ TV was headed by Bert Ellis, of Titan Broadcast Managment, which has been managing the stations on behalf of Shubert. That is incorrect, Ellis says. Bartley, a longtime broadcast lender, is the head. However, he says, “We are continuing to manage the stations with a back-end interest.”
BRAND CONNECTIONS
Kalil & Co. represented the Shubert in the deal.
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