Townsquare Media announced on Friday that it has repurchased and retired 1.5 million shares of its Class C common stock, previously held by MSG National Properties, LLC, using cash on hand. The shares were bought back for $9.70 per share, representing an 8.5% discount from the closing price of the Class A common stock on Thursday.
As a result of the repurchase, MSG now holds a total of 1,708,139 shares of Common Stock in Townsquare Media. This includes 583,139 shares of Class A Common Stock and 1,125,000 shares of Class C Common Stock. By retiring the repurchased shares, Townsquare reduces its outstanding shares, and potentially increase the ownership percentage of other shareholders.
Townsquare suffered a $1.94 million net loss in Q1, despite outperforming expectations. The buyback shows Q2 could hold a significant bump for the broadcaster.
“We could not be more pleased to share that given our strong cash position, we were able to repurchase approximately 8.5% of our total shares outstanding (and nearly half of MSG’s ownership in Townsquare), capturing a positive return for our shareholders. Due to our strong cash flow generation, we have demonstrated Townsquare’s ability to support a high-yield dividend and repurchase debt and equity, while also simultaneously investing in the future of our digital growth engine,” commented Bill Wilson, Townsquare’s Chief Executive Officer.
“This repurchase is immediately accretive to shareholders and we thank our Board of Directors for their vote of confidence in our medium and long-term business plan to grow revenue and profits.”
