Bonneville International Corp., the broadcasting arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, wants to swap three of its radio stations for three owned by Chancellor Broadcasting Co. and Evergreen Media Corp.
For good measure, Bonneville will receive $60 million in cash in the deal that is estimated to be worth $740 million.Bonneville will exchange WDBZ-FM, New York City; KBIG-FM, Los Angeles; and KLDE-FM, Houston for KZLA-FM, Los Angeles, and WTOP-AM and WGMS-FM, both in Washington, D.C.
Bruce Reese, Bonneville president and chief executive officer, said, "Bonneville has worked diligently to consolidate its radio operations in selected major markets. When this exchange is concluded, Bonneville will have strengthened its competitive position in Los Angeles and will have solid clusters of radio stations in Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C."
The radio stations Bonneville is acquiring will continue their existing formats. KZLA-FM plays country western music; WTOP-AM is reputed to be the leading news station in Washington, D.C.; and WGMS-FM is one of the country's best classical music stations, Reese said.
Paul Leonard, a broker for Star Media who handled the transaction, said the exchange must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission. Reese said station management and other personnel assignments will be announced later as Bonneville begins operating the three new stations.
Earlier this year, Bonneville acquired KLDE in Houston in a swap with Entertainment Communications Corp. So far this year, Bonneville has purchased or exchanged stations in Chicago, Kansas City, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle and Cedar City.
After the swap is completed, Bonneville will own and operate 14 radio stations, two television stations and six communication support companies with which it broadcasts its semiannual general conferences to all parts of the United States.