Townsquare Buys WPST +2
• Townsquare Media, Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire three radio stations in Trenton, NJ from Connoisseur Media, LLC — heritage Top 40 WPST, Sports-Talk WNJE-AM (920 The Jersey) and Inspirational WCHR-AM 1040 in a deal worth $17 million.
Townsquare co-CEO Dhruv Prasad said, “We are very excited to announce the acquisition of these radio stations, particularly WPST, one of the Northeast’s most respected and highest-performing CHR stations. Combined with our market leading News/Talk radio station [WKXW (New Jersey 101.5)/Trenton], and our existing portfolio of ten other stations in the state of New Jersey, we believe these assets will enhance our ability to deliver high quality, engaging, local content and superior, multi-platform marketing solutions.” He added, “This is the third strategic acquisition that we have announced within the past nine months, demonstrating our continuing commitment to investing capital at attractive values in our local media business.” Townsquare recently announced the acquisition of WOUR-FM/Utica, NY and closed the acquisition of a cluster of radio stations in Pittsfield, MA in September 2017.
Ron deCastro, Market President/Chief Revenue Officer of Townsquare Trenton, added, “We are excited to welcome the talented Connoisseur New Jersey team to Townsquare. We respect their accomplishments and are excited to join forces with them to operate the leading radio brands in the region. We will now have even more market-leading assets at our disposal to deliver results to our customers.” Jeff Warshaw, Chief Executive Officer of Connoisseur remarked, “This is a bittersweet deal for us. We are very proud of our talented team and their accomplishments in New Jersey. I’m confident that these stations will continue to thrive as part of the Townsquare family.”
Following these acquisitions, Townsquare will own 321 radio stations in 67 markets, maintaining its position as the third largest owner of radio stations in the United States.
