Vertical Bridge Closes on Alpha Media Radio Broadcast Towers (Press Release)

Vertical Bridge, the largest private owner and manager of wireless communication infrastructure in the U.S., today announced that it has completed the acquisition of nearly 200 radio broadcast towers in a two part transaction with Alpha Media. The portfolio of assets acquired includes 64 sites from Alpha Media’s existing portfolio and 49 sites which Alpha Media recently acquired as part of its purchase of radio stations from Digity, LLC. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

With this acquisition, Vertical Bridge now has a total portfolio of over 42,000 towers, rooftop locations, billboards, utility infrastructure and other site locations that it owns, operates or manages. The company’s geographic presence in key markets across the U.S. has also expanded significantly.

“We are thrilled to partner with Larry Wilson and Alpha Media, which owns and operates an admirable portfolio of assets in prime locations across top markets,” said Alex Gellman, Chief Executive Officer of Vertical Bridge. “It would be challenging to site these towers today, and we feel fortunate to expand our portfolio into these areas and further strengthen Vertical Bridge’s offering to our partners. Since these towers have not yet been marketed to wireless carriers, they offer attractive new collocation opportunities. Our broadcast partners will also benefit from the height of these towers as they will provide good relocation options relative to the 600MHz auction repacking process.”

Alpha Media Chairman, Larry Wilson commented on the announcement, “We could not have done this without the hard work and determination from the great team at Vertical Bridge. We’re proud to call them a partner of the Alpha Media family.”

George Reed of Media Services Group is the broker for Alpha Media.

Gary Hess's story on his leap from broadcasting to forming American Tower

Our sister publication, Inside Towers, wrote an interesting piece on Gary Hess and his jump with Steve Dodge and Jimmy Eisenstein from broadcasting to towers, launching American Tower.  It all started with one broadcast tower (and an attempt to keep a Palm Beach FM station on the air).  Check it out HERE.  Quite a story!

If you would like a free charter subscription to Inside Towers, click HERE.

George
Media Services Group

Another FAQ: Why are so many broadcasters selling their tower assets?

Q:  "Why are so many broadcasters selling their tower assets?"

A:  There are several valid reasons. The trading multiples on tower cash flow are significantly higher than the BCF multiples for radio and TV stations. Selling your tower allows you to monetize a valuable asset without hindering your station operation. Many owners use the funds to retire debt. It also shifts to tower upkeep, expense and burden from the broadcaster to a tower company.

Since a tower sale does not require FCC approval, cash can be raised quickly.

George
Media Services Group

Monetize your tower assets

The tower industry is enjoying unprecedented growth with no end in sight. The carriers are continuing to build out and improve their networks. And the major tower consolidators have healthy appetites and deep pockets.

This has created enormous opportunity for broadcasters with undermanaged tower assets, and small and mid-sized tower companies. Many are making the decision to monetize their tower assets and they are being rewarded with excellent sale prices.

Media Services Group delivers “top dollar’ for our tower clients. We run a proven sale process, utilizing our database of tower buyers in tandem with our secure online data room. We know the tower business. Several of our partners own and manage towers. One built up and sold a significant tower portfolio.

Contact us for a confidential discussion about the value of your towers. Our tower marketing process is both efficient and effective. Closings often occur within 90 days of our engagement. Let us show you what we can do for you.

George
Media Services Group

Broadcast Tower Market Looking Up

At the right selling multiple of Tower Cash Flow ("TCF"), selling your broadcast tower(s) can be a great way to raise cash. (Note: TCF is your revenue minus operating expenses such as ground lease, utilities, property taxes and monitoring).

For much of the last year, broadcast tower assets languished at low multiples of TCF with few, if any buyers. Tower companies in general were capital constrained like every other business, and if they did buy something, it was usually wireless towers. Many tower companies expressed concerns about the creditworthiness of broadcaster tenants. I saw some offers at 3x to 5x TCF, but no takers.

Fast forward to today. Many broadcasters and sitting on great FM tower assets and the market is beginning to heat up. While capital is still tight, "vertical real estate" is a scarce commodity. Multiples have been bid up into the 8x to 10x range. With tower consolidators getting back into an acquisition mode, station multiples in a lower range than towers, and with "cash being king," now might be a good time to consider selling your towers. I would be happy to confidentially discuss your options with you.

If you would like more information on maximizing the value of your broadcast towers, I strongly recommend that you pick up a copy of Erwin Krasnow's and Henry Solomon's book, "Broadcast Towers - A Step-by-Step Guide to Making Money on Vertical Real Estate." You can order it from the NAB Store (http://www.nabstore.com/books.html).

George

Media Services Group