Acts as Sole Lead/Administrative Agent for $185 Million in Senior Secured Financing
GE Commercial Finance's Global Media & Communications unit announced today that it arranged the provision of $185 million in senior secured financing for the acquisition of Radio Unica's radio station assets by MultiCultural Radio Broadcasting, Inc. (MRBI). The GE Commercial Finance unit was the sole lead arranger and administrative agent for the financing, which closed in February.
New York City-based MRBI is the 15th largest broadcaster in the U.S. based on number of radio stations owned. Most of the company's radio stations are engaged in block programming/time brokerage sales to Asian, Hispanic, and other ethnic programmers. The company also produces its own programming primarily targeting the Chinese community in Los Angeles and New York City. MRBI is privately owned by the Liu family.
"Because the sale of Radio Unica's radio station assets was to be achieved via a prepackaged bankruptcy filing, the sellers required a high degree of certainty about the winning bidder's ability to finance the transaction," said Garret Komjathy, Vice President, GE Commercial Finance/Global Media & Communications. "Our specialized industry knowledge and ability to provide flexible financing solutions assisted MRBI in completing the transaction in a timely fashion."
GE's Capital Markets Group syndicated the financing, which was oversubscribed, to a combination of commercial banks and institutional investors including GE, which committed $50 million to the facility. "The syndication's success was even more noteworthy given that this was MRBI's first debt issuance in the bank loan syndication market and this was the largest acquisition in the company's history," said Mr. Komjathy.
"The GE Commercial Finance/Global Media & Communications team provided indispensable support for our bid, via effective communications with the sellers, an appropriate deal structure, timely delivery of financing, and syndication expertise," said Arthur Liu, President and CEO, MultiCultural Radio Broadcasting, Inc. "We could not have completed this transaction without their responsiveness, creativity, and commitment."
About GE Commercial Finance/Global Media & Communications
With over $5.2 billion in assets and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Delhi, London, New York, Norwalk, and San Francisco, GE Commercial Finance/Global Media & Communications represents a "one-stop" source for the comprehensive range of GE lending and other structured finance services offered to the media, communications, and technology industries. Key segments include radio and television broadcasting, cable, entertainment, movie theatres, outdoor advertising, publishing, technology, towers, wireless, and wireline. Its core products include asset-based lending, cash flow lending, corporate restructuring, and mezzanine financing. GE Commercial Finance, which offers businesses around the globe an array of financial products and services, has assets of over $217 billion and is headquartered in Stamford, Conn. General Electric (NYSE:GE) is a diversified technology and services company dedicated to creating products that make life better.
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