KY3 parent reaches buyout agreement

Atlanta-based Gray Television Inc. (NYSE: GTN) inked a deal to buy Mishawaka, Ind.-based Schurz Communications Inc., the parent company of KY3 Inc.

In the $442.5 million deal, Gray would take over operations of NBC affiliate KY3 - the No. 1 ranked station in the market - and KCZ, the Springfield market’s CW affiliate. The deal represents Gray’s entrance into Missouri. Gray also would take over Schurz’s responsibility to provide sales and services to Perkin Media’s KSPR, the market’s ABC affiliate, according to a news release.

The purchase agreement also includes TV and radio stations in Wichita, Kan., Roanoke and Lynchburg, Va., South Bend, Ind., Augusta, Ga., Anchorage, Alaska and Rapid City, S.D.

“In a rapidly consolidating industry where size and scale matter more than ever before, we have come to the realization that Gray Television would be the best steward to ensure our stations succeed over the long term,” Schurz President and CEO Todd Schurz said in the release. “Gray knows how to operate top stations in small- and medium-sized markets, and they have an entrepreneurial and decentralized culture.”

Along with its recently announced acquisition of ABC affiliate KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and upon completion of its purchase of Schurz, Gray would grow to 49 markets from 30 in mid-2013, according to the release.

The Schurz deal is expected to close by the first quarter next year.

“Through the Schurz transaction, we will significantly expand the quality of our portfolio of leading television stations. We welcome more dedicated reporters, account executives and technologists to our growing family,” Gray President and CEO Hilton Howell Jr. said in the release.