Larry Wilson Buying Triad Broadcasting

The official announcement has now been made. Alpha Broadcasting CEO Larry Wilson has purchased Triad Broadcasting. Although the price of $21 million is being widely reported, an official announcement of the sale price has yet to be made. Triad currently has 32 radio stations in five markets -- Peoria, Fargo, Biloxi, Hilton Head, and Bluefield. The Triad group will be renamed L&L Radio for "Live and Local" and will be run separately from Alpha Broadcasting. A longtime Wilson associate, Bob Fuller, will be part of the new company as will Bob Proffitt, along with Donna Heffner, and Scott Mahalick. Wilson, the original founder and former CEO of Citadel Broadcasting, formed Alpha Broadcasting to acquire six stations in Portland, Oregon. This will be Wilson's first latter day venture outside of the Portland market. Confirming the deal, Wilson says in a statement, "We are very excited about the acquisition of the radio assets of Triad. After visiting each market and meeting with the great people David has assembled, we are more energized than ever to grow dominant clusters, assemble world-class talent and develop even more live and local programming to serve the wonderful communities that are home to these radio stations." Triad CEO David Benjamin says, "We could not be more proud of our stations and the great people who staff them. Our quality personnel, service to our communities, and financial track record have truly set a standard for small- and mid-market radio. We are absolutely delighted to turn these properties over to L&L CEO Larry Wilson and his team, with whom we are like-minded regarding both the critical importance of professional local staffing and the necessity of excellence in local programming. We wish Larry every success as he builds on this Triad foundation." The transaction, which now goes to the FCC for approval, is anticipated to close in the spring of 2013. Waller Capital was the sole financial advisor to Triad. Piper Jaffray & Co. assisted L&L Broadcasting in the transaction.