As a result of his purchase of 8HA and Sun FM in Alice Springs, Bill Caralis now owns 49% of 4KZ, 4AM, 4AY, Kool FM and Kik FM.
The acquisition comes as a knock on effect of Caralis’ purchase of Alice Springs Commercial Broadcasters Pty Ltd.
radioinfo can reveal that Caralis paid $48 per share for the Alice Springs company’s 83,000 shares, amounting to a purchase price of about $4 million.
Alice Springs Commercial Broadcasters was a 49% shareholder in the stations’ parent company Coastal Broadcasters Pty Ltd, and as a result now owns that shareholding.
Coastal Broadcasters’ AM stations have had a long association with Supernetwork’s John Laws program which is heard on relay daily from 2SM.
Company documents show that the other shareholders in Coastal Broadcasters are a local legal company, manager Al Kirton and a local Sugar Mill.
Alice Springs Commercial Broadcasters and coastal Broadcasters had some common directors who sat on both boards, although, according to documents filed with ASIC, the board of the Alice Springs station resigned earlier this week just before the sale to Supernetwork.
The 80 year old Bill Caralis seems still to have plenty of energy for expansion, so if he continues to be in acquisition mode he may start talking to some of the other Coastal Broadcastrts shareholders to see if he can convince some of them to sell so he can take a controlling stake in the company. Caralis has never been known to stay as a part owner of radio stations in the past.
The Far North Queensland stations have a powerful footprint across the top of Queensland.
- Located in Innisfail since 1967, Radio 4KZ covers the lush tropical coast of Far North Queensland from Townsville in the south to Cairns city in the north.
- Established in 1997, KOOL-FM (official call sign 4ZKZ) operates the most powerful transmitter in FNQ at 20Kw.
- 4AY serves the Innisfail region on AM 873 with a 24-hour feast of Australian and international Country Music and feature programs.
- Established 1967, 4AM on 558 KHz servs the Atherton Tablelands, covering all major centers in the region, including the tourist centres of Cairns, Port Douglass and Mossman.
- Since the mid-90’s 88.7 KIK-FM has been playing nothing but the best in international and Australian Country Music across the Tablelands from studios in Mareeba and repeaters in Normanton, Croydon and Ravenshoe.
