Now Entering San Diego: TEGNA
• It’s the end of a 55-year era — and the beginning of a new one — in San Diego, as TEGNA Inc. is acquiring Midwest Television’s San Diego television and radio properties — CBS affiliate KFMB-TV, CW affiliate KFMB-D2 and News-Talk KFMB-AM and Variety Rock KFMB (KFM-BFM) in a deal worth $325 million.
“This is a marriage of two great broadcasting cultures,” said Dave Lougee, President & CEO of TEGNA. “We have long admired our dedicated colleagues in San Diego and look forward to continuing the stations’ high-quality journalism, editorial independence and commitment to their local community. We have a proven ability to be a strategic and disciplined consolidator with a track record of acquiring profitable businesses at an attractive, accretive valuation. Looking ahead, we will continue to evaluate additional investments and select transactions to build on our growth and success with a focus on creating shareholder value.”
Elisabeth Kimmel, President & Owner of Midwest Television, commented, “This transaction is a testament to the outstanding value our employees have created serving the San Diego community. Having owned these properties for over 55 years, our family believed it imperative to find an excellent steward for television and radio stations that the community has embraced as part of the fabric of San Diego. We have found such a partner in TEGNA, an innovative media company that shares our commitment to the highest levels of journalistic integrity and serving the greater good of the community. We welcome TEGNA to San Diego with the knowledge that their values, resources and community leadership will serve our employees, consumers and customers for decades to come.” The deal is subject to the usual regulatory mumbo jumbo and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018.
