NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 4, 2007--The New York Times
Company has entered into an agreement to sell its Broadcast Media
Group, consisting of nine network-affiliated television stations,
their associated Web sites and the Digital Operating Center, to Oak
Hill Capital Partners for $575 million. The transaction is subject to
regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first half of
2007.
The Broadcast Media Group comprises the following stations:
- WHO-TV in Des Moines, Iowa (NBC)
- KFSM-TV in Ft. Smith, Ark. (CBS)
- WHNT-TV in Huntsville, Ala. (CBS)
- WREG-TV in Memphis, Tenn. (CBS)
- WQAD-TV in Moline, Ill. (ABC)
- WTKR-TV in Norfolk, Va. (CBS)
- KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City, Okla. (NBC)
- KAUT-TV in Oklahoma City, Okla. (MyNetworkTV)
- WNEP-TV in Scranton, Penn. (ABC)
"These are strong, well-situated stations with very talented
employees," said Janet L. Robinson, president and CEO of The New York
Times Company. "Over the years they have provided their communities
with high-quality programming and have contributed significantly to
our financial performance. We believe, however, that our focus now
should be on the development of our newspapers and our rapidly growing
digital businesses and the increasing synergies between them."
J. Taylor Crandall, a managing partner of Oak Hill Capital
Partners, said, "The New York Times Company Broadcast Media Group is
one of the industry's most admired franchises because of its heritage
television stations, its commitment to quality news and serving the
local community, and its outstanding employees. We look forward to
maintaining the standard of excellence that The New York Times Company
has achieved over the last 30 years."
Goldman, Sachs & Co. acted as financial advisor, and Morgan, Lewis
& Bockius LLP and Covington & Burling LLP acted as legal advisors to
The New York Times Company. UBS Investment Bank acted as financial
advisor and Dow Lohnes PLLC acted as legal advisor to Oak Hill Capital
Partners.
About The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company
with 2005 revenues of $3.4 billion, includes The New York Times, the
International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily
newspapers, nine network-affiliated television stations, two New York
City radio stations and 35 Web sites, including NYTimes.com,
Boston.com and About.com. The Company's core purpose is to enhance
society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news,
information and entertainment.
About Oak Hill Capital Partners
Oak Hill Capital Partners is a private equity firm with more than
$4.6 billion of committed capital from leading entrepreneurs,
endowments, foundations, corporations, pension funds and global
financial institutions. Robert M. Bass is the lead investor. Over a
period of nearly 20 years, the professionals at Oak Hill Capital have
invested in more than 50 significant private equity transactions. Oak
Hill Capital is one of several Oak Hill partnerships, each of which
has a dedicated and independent management team. These Oak Hill
partnerships comprise over $20 billion of investment capital across
multiple asset classes, including private equity, special situations,
high yield and bank debt, venture capital, real estate, a public
equity exchange fund and a global fixed income and equity hedge fund.
This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com
CONTACT: For The New York Times Company
Catherine J. Mathis, 212-556-1981
mathis@nytimes.com
or
Abbe Serphos, 212-556-4425
serphos@nytimes.com
or
Paula Schwartz, 212-556-5224
schwap@nytimes.com
or
For Oak Hill Capital Partners
Rhonda Barnat, 212-371-5999
rb@abmac.com
SOURCE: The New York Times Company
