Cumulus Media

Cumulus Media, Inc.

Type	Public
Traded as	NASDAQ: CMLS
Industry	Entertainment
Founded	1997
Headquarters	Atlanta, Georgia
Key people	Lewis W. Dickey, Jr., CEO, Chairman, & President ; Jonathan G. Pinch, Co-COO; John W. Dickey, Co-COO; Joseph P. Hannan, CFO; Richard S. Denning, General Counsel; Linda A. Hill, CAO
Products	Radio
Revenue	$243,922,000 (2007-09-30)
Employees	5,500 full time, 1,500 part time (post Citadel merger)
Website	http://www.cumulus.com

Cumulus Media, Inc. (and its operating subsidiary, Cumulus Broadcasting) is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks. Cumulus's headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia.

Cumulus' original business plan focused exclusively on owning radio stations located in medium sized media markets, and Cumulus Media only owns terrestrial radio stations in the United States; rival Clear Channel Communications owns satellite radio channels on Sirius XM Radio's XM Satellite Radio platform as well as Clear Channel Outdoor and Clear Channel International. Unlike some other radio broadcast companies, Cumulus does not own any TV stations, concert venues, or other ancillary businesses. However, in September 2010, the company publicly announced a deal to manage the operations of Modern Luxury Media, a magazine publishing business acquired by partners Dickey Publishing and Macquarie Capital.

Company history

In 2006, Cumulus acquired control of Susquehanna Radio, with the backing of 3 venture capital firms (Bain Capital Partners LLC, The Blackstone Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P.) for a price of $1.2 Billion. The 33 Susquehanna stations were privately held in a separate partnership called Cumulus Media Partners, LLC (commonly referred to as CMP on the company's quarterly earnings calls) that was the subject of an equity for debt swap in May 2009 in an attempt to avoid defaulting on the terms of the CMP lending agreement. While Cumulus operated the CMP stations, they initially held only a minor ownership interest in them. On January 31, 2011, Cumulus announced a deal to acquire the remaining ownership ownership of CMP from its equity partners in a stock transaction valued at approximately $740 million that is closed in August 2011.

In July 2010, Cumulus publicly announced formation of a similar venture with Crestview Partners to acquire up to $1 billion of additional radio assets.

In July 2007, the company announced its intention to "go private", however on May 11, 2008, the company announced it was unable to come to terms with the parties involved and the merger/acquisition agreement was terminated.

Like most major American radio station owners, Cumulus has been forced to write down the value of its radio station licenses, resulting in large non-cash losses - $498.9 million in 2008, $230.6 million in 2007, and $63.4 million in 2006.

The company's stock, priced over $22 in 2004, was as low as $0.45 per share toward the end of 2008.

Citadel Broadcasting Acquisition

Starting in June 2010, Cumulus made multiple unsuccessful offers to buy out Citadel Broadcasting after its emergence from bankruptcy. In February 2011, Cumulus was again said to be in "exclusive negotiations" to acquire Citadel for $2.5 billion paid to Citadel shareholders, according to CNBC. Some Citadel shareholders were said to have been pushing the board to consider a sale. On March 10, 2011, Citadel Broadcasting stations announced via email that Cumulus had purchased Citadel Broadcasting. Citadel was made up of 225 radio stations in over 50 markets, as well as Citadel Media, one of the largest radio networks in the United States. The deal was finalized on September 16, 2011, after acceptance by the FCC and Citadel's shareholders. As part of the deal, Cumulus Media will have to place 14 stations in to a separate trust to comply with ownership limits.

In an effort to focus on accretive large market consolidation as well as further de-leveraging of their balance sheet, Cumulus and Townsquare Media ink a deal to swap 65 radio stations in 13 markets, with majority of the 65 stations being sold to Townsquare. The sale is expected to close sometime in the latter half of 2012.

FCC actions

On December 30, 2008, Cumulus Media was issued a $14,000 Notice of Apparent Liability by the Federal Communications Commission related to the stations in the Macon, Georgia, cluster. The FCC says Cumulus failed to comply with its record-keeping requirements and its Equal Employment Opportunity rules on information on recruitment sources. Cumulus, along with two other companies, had 30 days to pay or file a statement asking for reduction or cancellation of the forfeitures.

See also

• List of radio stations owned by Cumulus Media

External links

• Cumulus Media Inc.