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6.28.2002
Great Hill Partners Forms Palm Beach Broadcasting and Purchases WRMF-FM
Boston, Mass., June 28, 2002 -- Great Hill Partners (Great Hill) announced the formation of Palm Beach Broadcasting (Palm Beach) to acquire, develop, and operate radio stations in mid-sized markets. On June 28th, Palm Beach made its first acquisition, obtaining West Palm Beach-based WRMF-FM 97.9 for an aggregate purchase price of $70 million.
"The purchase of a crown jewel like WRMF establishes an acquisition benchmark for Palm Beach Broadcasting, setting the bar for strong growth markets, competitive signals, and talented management teams," said CEO Michael Cutchall.
"WRMF is a premier radio property," added Cutchall. For over twenty years, WRMF has been a leader in ratings and revenue in West Palm Beach. Its 100kw signal and superior tower height of 1,348 feet provides not only the strongest signal in West Palm Beach, but coverage and access to the neighboring Fort Lauderdale market as well. WRMF's "heritage" format is Adult Contemporary, primarily focused on female audiences, aged 25-54. "Nationally recognized, WRMF provides us access to one of the fastest growing regions in the country. It also gives us a vehicle to develop opportunities in two dynamic markets---West Palm and Fort Lauderdale," said Michael Cutchall.
"Palm Beach's extremely capable executive team positions the company to create significant equity value," said Steve Gormley, managing partner of Great Hill Partners. "We are extremely pleased that Palm Beach has begun its operations with an acquisition with the potential of WRMF," added Gormley.
About Great Hill Partners:
Great Hill Partners is a private equity investment firm that specializes in data communications, IT services, telecommunications, media, information, education and business services companies. The firm has over $1 billion in capital under management from institutional investors including global commercial and investment banks, state and corporate pension funds, university endowments and private trusts. For more information, visit
www.greathillpartners.com.