A local media group is behind a push to expand the Federal Communication Commission laws on foreign ownership limits. Alpha Media, two years removed from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, finds itself now owned by the sponsors that held second lien note claims, prior to the chapter 11 process. They include several private equity growth funds, some with overseas’ owners.
Alpha has petitioned the FCC to move beyond the current 25% cap on foreign ownership, saying its reorganization plan would likely mean that a “substantial majority” of the new equity warrants would be held by foreign entities, pushing its non-U.S. ownership well beyond the current 25% cap.
Alpha’s new plan expects to have foreign ownership levels somewhere between 70 and -100%. The proposal cleared its first hurdle last Friday, as the FCC announced it has forwarded the proposal to other federal agencies for review of any national security, law enforcement, foreign policy, or trade policy concerns.
Alpha Media operates 236 full-power stations and FM translators in the US, including mid-Missouri outlets, KRES-FM, KWIX-AM, KWIX-FM all in Moberly, KIRK-FM in Macon, and KTCM in Madison.