13 Comments Add your own

• 1. Don Day  |  August 24th, 2007 at 12:27 pm

  Wow. Blockbuster.

• 2. tdc  |  August 24th, 2007 at 12:42 pm

  this is news only in the respect that they have finally made it official. there has been speculation this was going to happen for the last two years. use the htv link for their share price in lr’s right column. read the yahoo! comments from way back.

  nice $2 pop !

• 3. tdc  |  August 24th, 2007 at 1:11 pm

  HEARST-ARGYLE TV MOVES TO GO PRIVATE
  TVNEWSDAY, Aug. 24, 3:37 PM ET
  Hearst Corp. proposes to acquire remaining public shares for approximately $600 million, offering $23.50 in cash per share.
  By Staff
  Hearst Corp. announced Friday that it intends to make a tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of Hearst-Argyle Television Inc. common stock not owned by Hearst Corp. for $23.50 per share in cash.

  Story continues after the ad

  The offer price represents a premium of approximately 15% over the closing price on Aug. 23, 2007, as well as the average closing price for the last four weeks. The transaction will be implemented through a cash tender offer made for the publicly held Hearst-Argyle Television shares, followed by a cash merger at the same per share price paid in the tender offer.

  Hearst Corp. currently owns approximately 52% of the outstanding common stock, representing approximately 73% of both the outstanding equity and general voting power of Hearst-Argyle Television. The aggregate consideration payable under the proposal for the public stake is approximately $600 million. Following the transaction, Hearst-Argyle Television would become a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst Corp.

  Hearst Corp. expects to commence the tender offer in early September 2007. Offering materials will be mailed to Hearst-Argyle Television stockholders and Hearst Corp. will file all necessary information with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The commencement and completion of the tender offer and, if the tender offer is completed, the consummation of the merger, do not require any approval by Hearst-Argyle Television’s board of directors and Hearst Corp. has not asked Hearst-Argyle Television’s board of directors to approve the tender offer or the merger.

  Lazard Freres & Co. LLC is acting as financial advisor to Hearst Corporation in connection with the offer

• 4. Anony Mouse  |  August 24th, 2007 at 2:15 pm

  Somewhere in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia, a bunch of newspaper and TV executives just got intensely jealous!!!!

• 5. Rex  |  August 24th, 2007 at 2:42 pm

  So, analysis (or speculation) time… why?

• 6. Ed  |  August 24th, 2007 at 2:51 pm

  Well, the stock was pretty illiquid, and SOX eats up a lot of money.

  Why not?

• 7. Rex  |  August 24th, 2007 at 5:42 pm

  $600 million on “why not?”

  I’m not exactly optimistic on media board rooms right now, but I hope there’s more to this than that. There are typically two reasons for something like this:

  1) They think the stock is significantly undervalued.

  2) There is a major deal planned.

• 8. Z  |  August 24th, 2007 at 8:58 pm

  Sweet! My 73.1203 shares are worth something! Love that employee stock purchase plan!

  Hate the capital gains tax, of course.

• 9. Don Day  |  August 25th, 2007 at 10:50 am

  I agree with Rex… something’s up.

  Where does H-A rank among the non-O&O groups? Is it the largest in terms of audience reach? Anyone know?

• 10. thewashingtonchannel  |  August 25th, 2007 at 11:35 am

  the plot thickens… they just hired dc lobbyists too.

• 11. Ed  |  August 26th, 2007 at 8:07 am

  Yeah, $600MM on why not. It’s less then these companies piss away buying half-baked internet companies…

• 12. thedubaichannel  |  August 26th, 2007 at 9:56 am

  so cooked tv stations are better than half-baked internet companies?

  just curious

• 13. Ed  |  August 26th, 2007 at 6:57 pm

  Hell, yes. They have a monopoly on spectrum. That’s always going to be worth something.

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