BlatherWatch

Fisher Investor claims $41.00-share offer too low: Files lawsuit to stop sale to Sinclair

As reported in Shareholders Foundation today, a professional loss-prevention, settlement recovery, portfolio monitoring service,  an investor has filed suit regarding the sale of Seattle based Fisher Broadcasting (KOMO Radio/TV,KVI,KPLZ) to Sinclair, claiming the offer is undervalued.

 

If you purchased shares of Fisher Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSCI) prior to April 11, 2013, and currently hold any of those NASDAQ:FSCI shares, you have certain options and you should contact the Shareholders Foundation, Inc.

The plaintiff alleges that the defendants breached their fiduciary duties by agreeing to sell the company too cheaply via an unfair process to Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.  On April 12, 2013, NASDAQ:FSCI shares traded as high as $41.20 per share.

 

Just days before the April 13th announcement of the acquisition, Sinclair Broadcast Group refinaced its credit loan terms.  Sinclair raised $900.0 million of new term loans, which consisted of $500.0 million in new term A loans maturing April 2018 and priced at LIBOR plus 2.25% and $400.0 million in new term B loans maturing April 2020 and priced at LIBOR plus 2.25% with a LIBOR floor of 0.75%. In addition, Sinclair obtained a new $100.0 million revolving line of credit maturing April 2018 and priced at LIBOR plus 2.25%.

 

 

BREAKING: Fisher Sold To Sinclair.

TV News Check is reporting Fisher acquisition by Sinclair is all but a done deal, incuding 13 full-power and seven LPTV stations.

 

"Sinclair Broadcasting won a bidding war against LIN Media to buy Fisher in a deal finalized in the wee hours of Tuesday night, according to sources."  The story continues: "A spokesman at Fisher’s public relations firm, Sard Verbinnen & Co., said the company had no comment on rumors and speculation."

No word yet on the state of Fisher owned KOMO AM/FM, KVI, KPLZ.  It is likely they will be spun off after the sale.  The deal was reportedly worth $371 million.  Fisher also managed Classic King FM.

Feburary Book Is Out, KFNQ de-listed; KIRO FM,KOMO stuck in 3rd gear

From Radio-online and Arbitron.

 

The winners and losers from the latest PPM's  showing what we already know, most stations gained or lost a tenth of a percentage point or so. What was interesting is the total drop out of former progressive talker , now Sports Talk KFNQ, rating worse than the last month before they pulled the lefty format ; it never got a bump after it's start-up. 

Now it's true with the exception of March Madness and possibly any breaking news on the NBA moving back to Seattle, sports talk is a big snooze-fest around here.  We've also reported on the validity of Personal People Meters too.

 

 

But c'mon, did CBS really think it was going to do any better flipping progressive talk to sports just because they owned the network?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The boom that went bust

 

 

 

 

Seattle has 3 or so AM sports talkers, along with FM simulcast and suburban stations. 

 Can it sustain more outlets to talk Norts Spews until Mariner's and Seahawk seasons return, or Sacramento gives up the Kings?

The 2 other sportsters, KIRO 710 and KJR 95 both lost nearly a point from Dec to Feb.

 

The usual winners or those that play in the top 5 were mostly music KRWM, KQMV, KUOW,KBKS (Kiss 106) and KCMS.   Danny Bounaduce is evidently giving #6 KZOK a better share than the Dec book.  KUOW got a slight bump from December, KJR FM went from 3.5 in Dec to February' 4.2, probably due to speakers in warehouses being turned back on after the Holiday music blitzkrieg.

KIRO FM did slightly better with it's 3 share going to 3.6, KOMO stayed relatively flat during the 3 months, almost tied with the Too Beautiful To Die, Bonneville station.  Fisher's KVI remained flat the entire time with 0.7 share. Another Bonne-ville talker, KTTH dropped from 3.3 Dec. to 2.6 last month.  Classic KING FM fell from a 3 to a 2, KMTT went from 2.5 to a 3.0 despite the change-up in long time hosts and management.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fisher gets Gordon Gecko'd

Which means its for sale. It's been for sale for some time considering the drain that Fisher Plaza did to their bottom line.

The local owners of KOMO TV-Radio (KING FM managed)and other broadcasting properties announced today that Fisher through it's board "has decided to explore and evaluate potential strategic alternatives intended to enhance shareholder value, which could result in, among other things, a possible sale of the company."

According to reports in the Puget Sound Biz Journal " "In early Thursday trading, shares in Fisher (NASDAQ: FSCI) were up more than 16 percent, rising $4.58 to $33.07."

 

 

 

 

That giant sucking sound from Hedge Fund Plaza

 "The company has not made a decision to pursue any specific strategic transaction or any other strategic alternative, and there is no set timetable for the strategic review process," Fisher said in a statement.

 

Reuters was more specific  that Fisher shares jumped as much as 20 percent to $34.25, valuing the company at $304 million, under pressure from billionaire investor Mario "Gordon Gecko"Gabelli, said it is exploring strategic alternatives, including a sale.

Gabelli, the largest shareholder in the company with a 28.63 percent stake, said however that he still preferred a leveraged restructuring to an outright sale.

"I'd have done a leveraged restructuring because that is the culture of 1980s. That is what Multimedia (Inc) did and that was a very good way to make money for the shareholders," Gabelli told Reuters. Which is Wall Street Speak for 'lunch is for wimps'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sun-tzu: If your enemy is superior, evade him. If angry, irritate him. If equally matched, fight, and if not, get Bonneville on the phone. 

 

Gabelli suggested in a letter to Fisher in April last year that they implement a leveraged restructuring similar to the one executed by Multimedia Inc Chief Executive Wilson Wearn in 1985. (link.reuters.com/myn25t)

We don't see a Bud Fox here to save the last locally owned broadcast company in the NW. 

 Gabelli calling the Fisher suits "pal" when in Seattle

 

2 R.I.P' Schram and Gastineau

We knew about the departure of KJR 950's Mike Gastineau since earlier this week--we probably should of seen the writing on the wall for Ken Schram, since the budget cuts at Fisher this year reduced his presence to small radio commentaries and TV 4 "Schrammie" awards.

Schram, who had been at KOMO since 1977 as reported in the P-I

"My position here at KOMO 4 News has been eliminated," Schram wrote on his Facebook page Wednesday morning. "Today is the last 'Schrammie' and next Monday will be my last commentary.

"I'd be less than candid if I didn't acknowledge how disappointed I am to have my 35+ year career at KOMO end this way. Still it's been a great run. I don't know what the future holds, but I'll keep you posted here on Facebook. Thanks for all the years that you've allowed me to share."

In a 2001 P-I feature story, Schram said he tries to answer each of the hundreds of e-mails he receives, even the ones calling into question his sanity or his parentage. He said it's part of his desire to make a connection, to provoke thought.

"There's a void in intelligent journalism," Schram told the P-I's John Levesque. "We need to bring thoughtful directness back."

Schram spent nearly two decades writing and reading KOMO editorials on the air and hosted "Town Meeting' for 18 years until it was canceled in 1999.

 

As far as Mike Gastineau his seperation was voluntary according to his statement from KJR:

 

Sports Radio 950 KJR AM, Seattle’s live and local sports station, announced today that Afternoon Drive Host, Mike “Gasman” Gastineau, has announced he will leave the station after more than 21 years as a talk show host.  Gastineau’s final show will air on Thursday, December 6, 2012 from 3-7:00 p.m. PST.

“I can’t thank Mike enough – both personally and professionally, for his talent, dedication and passion.  Mike has been a pillar for Sports Radio KJR and a sports icon in the Seattle market,” said Rich Moore, Program Director, Sports Radio KJR.  “His voice on Sports Talk in the afternoon will be missed and his relationship with listeners in the market will not be forgotten.  We wish him nothing but the best in his next chapter.”

Gastineau arrived in Seattle in June of 1991.  KJR made the switch to an all Sports Talk format in October 1991, when he teamed up with Rick DuPree to co-host the midday show.  Since September 1993 Gastineau has anchored the afternoon drive which led him to the center of discussions that helped shape public opinion to build Safeco Field, CenturyLink Field, Emerald Downs and more recently the proposed new basketball arena in SoDo.  Gastineau also spearheaded a yearly auction, the “KJR Kares-a-thon,” which has raised more than $1.5 million over 17 years for various Puget Sound charities.

Radio odds and ends

Thanks to our faithful reader BT for his head's up on some local raydeeoh news:

"KOMO radio weekend anchor Val Stouffer has resigned to take a full-time gig at KIRO FM. For Val, it's a homecoming, of sorts. She formerly anchored the KIRO Afternoon News with Tony Miner, but was fired when the station jettisoned the 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. news-block in Jan. 2005. In the ensuing years, Val did fill-in at KPLU and KZOK before moving to KOMO.

 KOMO has also cut Gary Burleigh's weekend sportscasts, opting for canned sports from Total Traffic (formerly Metro Traffic). Gary brought a seasoned broadcaster's personality, energy and style to the weekend programming, (and notwithstanding the fact that he's an old friend, it seems a shortsighted, cheap decision) .

KOMO goes newsier, KVI recycles and goes memorex.

 

As tipped off last week( but we wanted to wait until they flipped again) The Fisher twins, KOMO and KVI have updated their format in favor of more news at the former and another taco stand for the 570 call, by using second tier conservative syndication and the spare parts of whats left over.

Carlson is back in at KVI with "Commute with Carlson", possibly the only live host. Ken Schram is out but still has daily commentaries on KOMO am and will remain on KOMO TV.  Micheal Savage, Laura Ingraham, Mark Levin, Lars Larson and Don Imus,  albeit mainly taped shows, are part of the lineup along with the junkier Red Eye Radio for the warehouse elite.

KOMO stays with news but adds new anchors,  Bill Rice from 4a-5 and then 9-noon, Brian Calvert from Noon to 3p, with the current KOMO Morning News team of Manda Factor & Gregg Hersholt and KOMO Afternoon News with Jane Shannon & Tom Hutyler staying in place.  At Midnight, Dial Global's Overnight America lulls us until America in the Morning from 3a-4 starts the cycle over again.

Local sports talkers win national recognition

No, no, no. It wasn't Dori.  Talker's magazine listed its First Annual Heavy Hundred of Sports Talk. Coming in at a respectable #19 is 710 KIRO FM's own Kevin Calabro! Following him at #35 is the duo of Brock Huard and Mike Salk.At #37 is Mitch Levy of KJR-AM.  Jumping down to #65 is another team from 710 KIRO-AM, Bob Stelton and Dave Grosby.  All in all, a very respectable showing for the Pacific Northwest.

On the Talkers.com website they explain: "In order to create this list, the editors took into account a combination of hard and soft factors and the results are, admittedly, subjective.  Staying true to the realities of the media business, ratings and revenue are two of the major factors – some would say they are the only factors worth considering – but the editors also took into account other qualities that help create a list that is reflective of the industry’s diversity and total flavor and still give credit where credit is due.  Those qualities include:  courage, effort, impact, recognition, service, talent and uniqueness."

Sorry Dori.

Breaking: Greg Hersholt to return to local radio

Gregg Hersholt, jetisoned by KIRO in 2010 after 26 years with the station, and most recently doing afternoons at KXL (Portland), has been named morning anchor at KOMO, replacing the recently retired Bill Yeend. This will supposedly also replace Mornings with Manda (weekdays 5a-9a) co-hosted by Manda Factor and Tom Hutyler.

Stay tuned!

Bob Throndsen retiring after 34 years at KOMO

We are honored to report that longtime reporter, anchor and managing editor of KOMO News is retiring after 34 years in the business. Most recently he served as news director of KOMO radio.

You can watch an interview and retrospective at TV SPY courtesy of our friends at Media Bistro at the link.