Citadel acquires ABC Radio for $2.7 billion

Citadel acquires ABC Radio for $2.7 billion

Citadel Broadcasting Corporation has announced their plans to merge itself with the Walt Disney’s ABC Radio business. The deal is worth around a massive $2.7 billion and it would help Citadel gain a major foothold in the biggest U.S. radio markets.

Disney has announced their plans to sell off their ABC Radio unit a couple of days ago and they seem to have found the right buyer for this division. The company now plans to spin or split-off ABC’s 22 radio stations and its ABC Radio Networks programming business into a separate entity, which would then be merged into Citadel’s own operations.

This would help the company make the transaction tax-free for their investors. The shareholders of Disney would continue to own 52 percent of the new company. The new entity would be called Citadel Communications after the deal is completed. And the current Chief Executive Officer of Citadel, Farid Suleman would resume similar duties at the top of the new entity.

The combined entity would have 177 FM radio stations and 66 AM stations. However, Disney would continue to own ESPN Radio and Radio Disney completely on their own.