Regent Communications Enters Bloomington, Illinois Market
Regent to exchange stations in Erie and Lancaster, Pennsylvania For Citadel's
Five Stations in Bloomington, Illinois
COVINGTON, Ky., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Regent Communications, Inc.
announced today that it is entering the Bloomington, Illinois market through a
station swap with Citadel Broadcasting Corp. . Specifically, Regent is
exchanging four stations serving the Erie, PA market and two stations serving
the Lancaster-Reading, PA market, plus a cash payment for Citadel's five
stations serving the Bloomington, Illinois market. Regent's cash payment to
Citadel will be based on a 7.5 times multiple of the difference in station
operating income of the properties being exchanged for the twelve month period
ending January 31, 2004. This transaction is subject to receipt of all required
regulatory approvals. Regent and Citadel will begin operating the Bloomington,
Erie and Lancaster stations, respectively, pursuant to a timebrokerage
agreement effective immediately.
Terry Jacobs, Regent's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Today's
transaction enhances our growth profile and provides us with a major leadership
position in an attractive middle-market. This deal strengthens our presence in
Illinois, as Bloomington is adjacent to our Peoria cluster, creating sales and
marketing opportunities. Most importantly, this transaction is immediately
accretive and will enhance our ability to grow revenue and cash flow over the
coming years." Upon the close of this transaction, Regent will own and operate WBNQ-FM,
WBWN-FM, WTRX-FM, WJEZ-FM and WJBC-AM serving the Bloomington, Illinois market,
the 202nd ranked radio revenue market.
Regent will provide an update on this transaction's impact on future financial
results when it releases fourth quarter and full-year 2003 results on February
26, 2004.
Separately, Regent also announced that it has completed its previously announced
station swap with Clear Channel Communications whereby Regent exchanged four
stations serving the Duluth, Minnesota market plus $2.7 million in cash for
Clear Channel's five stations serving the Evansville, Indiana market.
Terry Jacobs continued, "We continue to demonstrate our abilityto improve our
growth profile by leveraging all the resources available to us. Our transaction
with Clear Channel, as well as our transaction with Citadel today, were possible
because of our previous acquisition of Brill Media's radio properties. At the
end of the day we have significantly lowered the acquisition multiple of the
Brill deal, upgraded the markets in which we operate and increased our growth
potential with immediate revenue and cash flow enhancements while maintaining a
strong balancesheet. We are very excited about the future and remain focused
on creating value for our shareholders over the long-term." Regent Communications is a radio broadcasting company focused on acquiring,
developing and operating radio stations in middle and small-sized markets. Upon
the close of all announced transactions, Regent will own and operate 75 stations
located in 15 markets. Regent Communications, Inc. shares are traded on the
Nasdaq under the symbol "RGCI." This press release includes certain forward-looking statements with respect to
Regent Communications, Inc. for which we claim the protections of the safe
harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve certain
risks and uncertainties and include statements preceded by, followed by or that
include words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect,"
"intend," "project" and other similar expressions. Although we believe our
expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are based on
reasonable assumptions, such statements are influenced by our financial
position, business strategy, budgets, projected costs, and plans and objectives
of management for future operations. Actual results and developments may differ
materially from those conveyed in the forward-looking statements based on
various factors including, but not limited to: changes in economic, business and
market conditions affecting the radio broadcast industry, the markets in which
we operate, and nationally; increased competition for attractive radio
properties and advertising dollars; fluctuations in the cost of operating radio
properties; our ability to manage our growth; our ability to integrate these and
other acquisitions; and changes in the regulatory climate affecting radio
broadcast companies. Further information on other factors that could affect the
financial results of Regent Communications, Inc. is included in Regent's filings
withthe Securities and Exchange Commission. These documents are available free
of charge at the Commission's website at http://www.sec.gov/ and/or from Regent
Communications, Inc. DATASOURCE: Regent Communications, Inc.
CONTACT: Terry Jacobs, Chairman and CEO, or Tony Vasconcellos, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, both of Regent Communications, +1-859-292-0030; or John Buckley, , or Kim Holt, both of Brainerd Communicators, +1-212-986-6667 for Regent Communications, Inc. |