September 14, 2011: The FCC has granted its approval to the merger of Cumulus Media and Citadel Broadcasting, as expected. Citadel and Cumulus made the deal in March and got Department of Justice approval earlier this week. Citadel shareholder are scheduled to vote on the merger tomorrow.
In the order issued today, the FCC's Media Bureau notes that the transfer of control will put 228 current Citadel stations under the control of Cumlus Media. Per the order, a total of 14 stations must be divested, six to comply with commission ownership rules, and another eight because the transfer of control "will terminate the licensees' abilty to maintain certain grandfathered ownership interests" in seven markets.
The applications filed by the parties for a transfer of control also included applications to assign 14 stations to a divestiture trust for future sale, and the FCC has made divestiture "prior to or simultaneous with" the completion of the merger a condition of its approval. The trust is "required to take commercially reasonable efforts to effectuate a sale of the stations without delay." The Department of Justice, which announced yesterday that it had completed its antitrust review of the merger, required the sale of three stations -- two in Harrisburg, aligning with the FCC's requirements, and an additional station in Flint, MI.
The markets where stations will be spun to meet FCC and DJO requirements are Nashville; Long Island; Dallas; Kansas City; Harrisburg; Montgomery; Fayetteville, AR; Macon and Savannah, GA; Columbus, MS; Myrtle Beach, SC; and Flint, MI.
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