Sale of WPYO and WSUN Will Fulfill FCC Divestiture Process for Cox Radio
Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. (SBS), CXR Radio LLC, as divestiture trustee, and Cox Radio LLC today announced that SBS will acquire FM radio broadcast stations WPYO(FM) and WSUN(FM), two stations serving the Orlando and Tampa radio markets.
The stations are held in trust by CXR Radio as a result of a divestiture trust mandate by the FCC, which arose from FCC ownership limitations and the sale of Cox Radio in 2019. CXR, which holds the stations’ FCC licenses and controls the operations of the stations, conducted a sales process resulting in today’s agreement with SBS, the parties said. Cox Radio, which has supported the trust’s operation of the stations, will also convey certain related station assets to SBS as part of the transaction. Cox Radio is a subsidiary of Cox Media Group.
“SBS is pleased to acquire WPYO(FM) and WSUN(FM) per FCC rules in order to serve the Hispanic communities of Orlando, Tampa and Central Florida and to foster minority ownership in media,” commented SBS Chairman and CEO, Raúl Alarcón.
Elliot Evers, the principal in CXR who has overseen the stations since the formation of the trust, said, “I am pleased that our sale process has produced full value for these two impressive stations. We engaged Houlihan, Lokey to assist with the process, and I am grateful for the instrumental role that the Houlihan team played in making this a success. Working with the CMG and SBS teams was an honor and a pleasure.”
Rob Babin, a Senior Vice President for Cox Media Group, who leads Cox Radio commented, “These stations have been a part of our Cox Media Group family for many years. We are saddened to see WPYO(FM) and WSUN(FM) leave our company, but we also are pleased to have fulfilled the FCC’s mandate to sell these stations – and we thank Elliot and his CXR team for all they did to oversee this process.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including FCC regulatory approval. The parties expect to close the transaction later in the first quarter of 2022.
