Private-equity outfit Oak Hill Capital Partners consummated its previously announced deal to buy eight Fox owned-and-operated TV stations Monday for about $1.1 billion. The Federal Communications Commission approved the sale in June.
The Fox stations will be managed by the senior executives of Local TV, the television platform Oak Hill created in 2007 following the purchase of nine stations from The New York Times Co.
In conjunction with the closing of the Fox deal, Geolo Capital joined Local TV’s ownership group as a minority investor. Geolo -- the private-equity investment arm of the John A. Pritzker family, based in San Francisco -- specializes in travel and leisure, hospitality and entertainment-focused investments. The family is related to the Chicago-based Pritzker dynasty.
“We remain confident that our Local TV management team will continue to deliver strong operating performance with these stations,” J. Taylor Crandall, a managing partner of Oak Hill, said in statement.
The stations are KDVR Denver; KSTU Salt Lake City; KTVI St. Louis; WBRC Birmingham, Ala.; WDAF Kansas City, Mo.; WGHP Greensboro, N.C.; WITI Milwaukee; and WJW Cleveland.
Oak Hill Capital was advised by Deutsche Bank Securities, Dow Lohnes and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Debt financing -- which comprised a $565 million senior secured credit facility and a $200 million senior notes offering -- was underwritten by affiliates of Deutsche Bank Securities, UBS Securities, Banc of America Securities and BNP Paribas Securities.
