Townsquare Media announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire three radio stations in Trenton, NJ from Connoisseur Media, LLC, for approximately $17 million, including longtime CHR station WPST.
“We are very excited to announce the acquisition of these radio stations, particularly WPST, one of the Northeast’s most respected and highest-performing CHR stations. Combined with our market leading news/talk radio station based in Trenton, NJ 101.5, and our existing portfolio of ten other stations in the state of New Jersey, we believe these assets will enhance our ability to deliver high quality, engaging, local content and superior, multi-platform marketing solutions,” commented Townsquare Co-CEO Dhruv Prasad. “This is the third strategic acquisition that we have announced within the past nine months, demonstrating our continuing commitment to investing capital at attractive values in our local media business.”
Ron deCastro, Market President/Chief Revenue Officer of Townsquare-Trenton, added, “We are excited to welcome the talented Connoisseur New Jersey team to Townsquare. We respect their accomplishments and are excited to join forces with them to operate the leading radio brands in the region. We will now have even more market-leading assets at our disposal to deliver results to our customers.”
“This is a bittersweet deal for us. We are very proud of our talented team and their accomplishments in New Jersey. I’m confident that these stations will continue to thrive as part of the Townsquare family,” said Jeff Warshaw, CEO of Connoisseur.
Townsquare is acquiring the assets of three radio stations (CHR WPST-FM 94.5, Sports WNJE-AM 920 and Religious WCHR-AM 1040) from Connoisseur. These stations will join Townsquare’s existing Trenton station, News/Talk WKXW NJ 101.5. In addition, Townsquare owns five stations in Monmouth-Ocean, NJ and five stations in Atlantic City, NJ.
This is the company’s third acquisition in the last nine months: Townsquare announced the acquisition of WOUR/Utica, NY in February and closed the acquisition of a cluster of radio stations in Pittsfield, MA in September 2017. Pro forma for these acquisitions, Townsquare will own 321 radio stations in 67 markets, maintaining its position as the third largest owner of radio stations in the United States. The Company expects the acquisition to close in the second quarter of 2018, subject to closing conditions and customary regulatory approvals.
