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 The Year in Numbers: Sales plummet as just 534 deals closed in 2009. A frozen credit market meant 29% fewer deals closed this year in 2008 when 747 transfers closed. Volume in the past 12 months is also considerably lower in than in2007 before the financial meltdown - when banks stopped writing loans. While lenders have promised to begin making capital available to buyers, there's so far been little indication it's having an impact on the deal market. The biggest deal of the year was Alpha Broadcasting's $40 million deal with CBS radio for four POrtland, OR stations (Broken: Kalil). Alpha CEO Larry WIlson had one of the other large deals, in an $11million purchase for Rose City Radio's Portland combo (Broker Doug Ferber, Defcom). The bigest seller of the year was CBS Radio, which closed on deals to spin-off 18 stations. Since it began earlier this this month CBS CEO Les Moonves told an investor conference, : Now that the marketplace is coming back, trimming some of the radio may be a better thing for us to do." Other big sellers included Textron's FFD Holdings, which sold 11 stations to former Pizza Hut Franchise mogul Gene Bicknell's American Media investments in a $5/249 million deal Bicknell's deep pockets made getting a deal done in the current frozem credit market possible. Broker Michael Bergner doesn't expect much change in 2010. "We are in a prolonged period of inactivity." He says. " There is no deal market because there is no demand and financing is just part of it." Bergner beleices radio, like other mature local media, faces tremendous headwinds. That's not attractive to buyers. Bergner says, "The cash flow is worth more to the people who already own it than anyone else." |
