Local Media of America Acquires Finest City Broadcasting,
Operator of Three San Diego Radio Stations
Company to Seek Other Media Acquisitions in San Diego and Nationally
San Diego – Jan. 7, 2010 – Local Media of America (LMA), an affiliate of private equity firm Thoma Bravo LLC, has acquired San Diego-based Finest City Broadcasting, operator of three radio stations serving the San Diego market. The transaction was completed in partnership with The Broadcast Company of the Americas (BCA), which operates three other stations in that market. LMA earlier had purchased the debt of Finest City Broadcasting and acquired the company and its assets through a foreclosure sale.
LMA will be led by CEO John Lynch, who also is the CEO of BCA. The six San Diego-area radio stations owned by the two companies will be operated as a group under Lynch’s direction. The Finest City Broadcasting stations include: Magic 92.5, XHRM FM, Z-90 XHTZ FM, and 91X XETRA FM. BCA operates: XX Sports Radio XEPRS AM, the Walrus XHPRS FM, and San Diego 1700 XEPE AM.
“The Finest City Broadcasting stations, coupled with BCA’s leading stations, create a powerful cluster of broadcasters in the San Diego market and provide a tremendous growth opportunity for LMA,” said John Lynch. “With a focus on creating local media platforms led by radio broadcasting, our group of stations is highly attractive to advertisers. With Thoma Bravo’s support, we look forward to examining future investment opportunities in the San Diego area and across the nation.”
“Thoma Bravo is excited to partner with media industry veteran John Lynch through LMA,” said Carl Thoma, a managing partner at Thoma Bravo. “John Lynch’s expertise coupled with Thoma Bravo’s proven investment model of building industry-leading companies through operational best practices and strategic acquisitions positions LMA well for further expansion.”
“LMA possesses strong media assets with tremendous potential and an experienced management team,” said Heather Smith Thorne, a vice president with Thoma Bravo. “The combination of these elements presents an excellent opportunity for additional acquisitions on both a local and national scale.”
With this transaction, Lynch returns to 91X XETRA FM, a station he founded in 1983 through a company he previously owned called Noble Broadcasting Group. Lynch sold Noble to Jacor Communications broadcast group in 1996. Jacor was subsequently sold to Texas-based Clear Channel Communications, which then sold it to Finest City.
RBC Daniels and Preferred Capital Advisors served as the financial advisors for the transaction. Goodwin Procter LLP, K&L Gates LLP, Garvey Shubert Barer, DLA Piper, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and Cervantes-Quijano Abogados provided legal counsel.
Source: Thoma Bravo, LLC, The Broadcast Company of the Americas, Finest City Broadcasting
