Entercom, owner of Denver’s KOSI, announced Tuesday that it has entered into an exchange agreement with Bonneville under which Entercom will exchange four stations in Denver for Classic Rock station The Sound in Los Angeles plus $5 million. The stations Entercom will exchange with Bonneville are: KOSI (101.1 FM), KYGO (98.5 FM), KKFN (The Fan 104.3 FM) and KEPN (The Zone 1600 AM). Entercom owns KOSI-FM, while the remaining stations are being acquired through the acquisition of Lincoln.
Entercom said the Justice Dept. has agreed to approve the Lincoln acquisition.
According to the, “as a result of the exchange agreement with Bonneville, the DOJ has agreed to approve the Company’s acquisition of Lincoln Financial Media. The Company has received FCC approval for the LFM acquisition and will close the transaction after DOJ terminates the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period.”
Earlier Tuesday, the Justice Dept. announced that, in order to proceed with its purchase of Lincoln Financial Media Company, Entercom Communications Corp. must sell off three Denver radio stations.
“Entercom and Lincoln own some of the most highly rated radio stations in Denver, and advertisers targeting radio listeners in Denver have benefited from competition between them,” said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Justice Departmentap Antitrust Division. “These divestitures will preserve that competitive dynamic.”
The Justice Dept.’s Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia to block the proposed acquisition. At the same time, the department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the competitive harm alleged in the lawsuit.
Entercom owns KALC (Alice 105.9 FM), KOSI (101.1 FM), KEZW (Studio 1430 AM) and KQMT (The Mountain, 99.5 FM) in Denver.
