Cumulus management buyout might have life to it after all

13 03 2008

Cumulus management buyout might have life to it after all

Posted by: in Financials and Analyticals

Filed under: Deals, Management, Financials and analyticals, Merrill Lynch, Shareholders

Cumulus Media Inc. (NASDAQ: CMLS) has an SEC FILING this morning noting that the company has received necessary consent from the lender group under its existing credit agreement that would grant it to enter into an amendment to permit a merger. It had previously noted on March 5, 2008 that it had entered discussions with lenders.

Members of the lending group holding in excess of 50% of the debt required to enter into an amendment gave their consents. The management-led merger would be with an investment group led by its Chairman, President & CEO Lewis W. Dickey Jr. and an affiliate of Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity, part of Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER).

This is not a done deal yet as merger completion remains subject to various conditions. Some conditions include approval by shareholders, FCC approval, and other customary closing conditions. The original buyout price was $11.75. On last look, shares were up more than 12% at $5.51, and the 52-week trading range is $4.90 to $11.74.

This has been one of the longer standing mergers as it was announced back in July 2007 right at the peak of the world being awash in liquidity and the height of private equity deals. On last look, the company had roughly 345 radio stations in 67 U.S. markets. Its market cap as of today is $238 million.