Walt Disney Company (The) -- Moody's says sale of Disney's radio stations will not impact debt ratings

New York, August 19, 2014 -- Moody's Investors Service said that The Walt Disney Company's ("Disney") announcement to sell 23 of its remaining 24 terrestrial radio stations and to begin distributing most of Radio Disney's kids programming on digital platforms will not impact its A2 senior unsecured long term and Prime-1 short term debt ratings or the stable outlook. Revenue and EBITDA from these stations are not material to Disney's consolidated results and accordingly the divestiture is not expected to have a significant effect on the company's credit metrics. Including any sale proceeds, the transaction is expected to have a minimal impact on the company's operating performance and financial position. The stations being sold include 22 AM stations and one FM station in major markets such as New York, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Houston and Detroit. Disney will continue to own its Los Angeles station as the national programming feed will originate from the station. In 2006, the company sold 22 stations to Citadel along with the ABC Radio Network for $2.7 billion. It also sold seven stations in 2010, and seven more in 2013.

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