For the third time, Emmis Communications CEO Jeff Smulyan is aiming to take the company private. Smulyan has submitted a $4.10-per-share cash offer to merge Emmis with his newly-formed E Acquisition Co. The board of directors for Emmis has formed a committee to consider the offer, which expires on September 16, according to the Indianapolis Star. His offer is worth approximately $46.5 million.
As part of the deal, Smulyan is also proposing that Emmis sell off some assets, including the majority of its publishing division (sans Indianapolis Monthly magazine), as well as Gospel WLIB-AM/New York and the Emmis-Terre Haute, IN cluster of stations.
Smulyan, who founded Emmis in 1979, attempted to take the company private in 2006 and again in 2010. It is the ninth-largest radio ownership group in the U.S.
