Forbes says if you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em:
- Once seemingly moribund, UHF-giant Paxson Communications has seen its stock nearly triple, from $2.10 in late March to a recent $6.25. Behind the sharp price increase: the Federal Communications Commission’s revamped media ownership rules, says Ronald Young, an analyst with Evergreen Investments. The movement of other broadcasting and newspaper stocks hasn’t been as dramatic, but this industry appears to be on the verge of a new round of buyouts, mergers and shuffling of assets.
The revised regulations, issued by a 3-2 vote among commissioners in early June, increases the number of radio and TV stations a company can own in a given market, allows media companies to own newspapers and television or radio stations in certain larger markets and lets them own TV stations that reach up to 45% of the national TV audience, up from 35% under the old rules.
“These changes put a lot of properties in play that weren’t before,” says Eric Schoenstein, director of business analysis for Jensen Investment Management. Schoenstein targets both Gannett and Tribune as likely dealmakers…..