Evansville Stations Part of $165M Sale
Two Evansville television stations are being sold as part of a $165 million deal. Entertainment Studios Inc., has announced plans to acquire WEVV-TV and WEEV-TV, as well as two stations in Louisiana, all of which are currently owned by Texas-based Bayou City Broadcasting LLC.
Byron Allen, chief executive officer of Entertainment Studios, is purchasing the station groups through his company, Allen Media Broadcasting LLC, according to a news release. Bayou City Broadcasting CEO DuJuan McCoy calls Allen a "visionary" and "brilliant entrepreneur" whose companies are "perfectly positioned to continue the strong tradition these stations have in serving their communities."
Allen says the acquisition marks a milestone for his company as the broadcast television stations are the first to be acquired by the company. He says he will continue to look for other opportunities to grow the company through strategic acquisitions.
Allen recently joined Maryland-based Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) to acquire 21 Regional Sports Networks from The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) in a $10.6 billion deal. That acquisition included Fox Sports Indiana.
Meantime, McCoy is in the process of acquiring two Indianapolis TV stations, WISH-TV and WNDY-TV, from Texas-based Nexstar Media Group Inc. (Nasdaq: NXST) in a $42.5 million deal. The acquisition is expected to be complete later this year.