Clear Channel Communications said last week that it entered into a definitive agreement to sell its television group to Providence Equity Partners for about $1.2 billion.
The sale includes 56 TV stations, including 18 digital multicast stations, located in 24 markets across the United States. It also includes the stations' associated Web sites, the Television Operations Center and Inergize Digital Media, which manages the television group's online and wireless initiatives. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2007, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
The television group currently consists of 10 CW, eight FOX, seven NBC, six ABC, six CBS, four MyNetworkTV, two NBC Weather Plus, two Telemundo, five independent stations and six stations affiliated with Clear Channel's Variety Television Network (VTV).
Providence Equity Partners, headquartered in Providence, RI, is a private equity firm specializing in equity investments in media, entertainment, communications and information companies around the world.
