E.W. Scripps To Acquire Two Television Stations From Granite Broadcasting

(RTTNews) - The E.W. Scripps Company (SSP) announced it has agreed to acquire two television stations owned by Granite Broadcasting Corp. (GBTVK.OB) - Detroit MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYD and Buffalo, N.Y., ABC affiliate WKBW - for $110 million in cash. Scripps said, with the deal, it will own 11 ABC affiliates that will reach nearly 12 percent of U.S. households, the largest reach among station groups.

The company said the transaction is structured as a purchase of assets, and it will be funded with cash on hand; no debt financing will be required. It is expected to be accretive to earnings in the first full year Scripps operates the acquired stations.

Scripps and Granite also have signed a Time Brokerage Agreement, whereby Scripps will provide four to six hours of daily programming to WMYD until the deal closes.