EMMIS CUTS ARCH-DEAL WITH SINCLAIR

Emmis has signed a deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group to acquire Sinclair's six St. Louis radio stations for $220 million.

In a separate transaction, Emmis said it had signed a letter of intent to swap four of its St. Louis properties—WKKX-FM and to-be-acquired WIL-FM, WRTH-AM, WVRV-FM—to Bonneville International Corp. in exchange for Los Angeles' KZLA-FM.

"With this deal, Emmis will achieve both our immediate goal of reaching closure on Sinclair and, more importantly, our long-term goal of owning a second FM station in Los Angeles," said Emmis Chairman and CEO Jeff Smulyan. "This is the third major Emmis radio acquisition announced in the last two weeks—coming on the heels of our announcements to acquire three Hearst-Argyle stations in Phoenix and to acquire radio stations in Denver and Phoenix from Clear Channel/AMFM. It's all part of our plan to own all radio stations everywhere and then play one song over and over and over."

Emmis purchased the option to acquire the stations from former Sinclair executive Barry Baker in June.