THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 24, 1996 TAG: 9605240717
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 28 lines
Landmark Communications Inc. said it has hired an investment banking firm to find a buyer for its Atlanta-based cable-TV network, The Travel Channel.
The move came after discussions to sell the channel to Discovery Communications Inc. fell apart.
The Norfolk-based Landmark, a media conglomerate whose interests include The Virginian-Pilot and The Weather Channel, had signed an agreement that had given Discovery the exclusive right to purchase The Travel Channel if terms could be worked out by May 15.
Landmark said in a statement Thursday that it had been trying to work out a deal under which it would be issued stock in the privately held Discovery, a Bethesda, Md.-based company whose interests include The Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel. It said unforeseen complexities in crafting such an agreement caused the discussions to break down. As a result, Landmark said it hired the New York investment banking firm of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette to contact ``seriously interested'' potential buyers of The Travel Channel. The privately held Landmark bought The Travel Channel for $50 million in 1992 from Trans World Airlines. Trade-press reports have speculated that the network, which has 20 million subscribers, could get up to $200 million from a better-positioned cable programmer. by CNB