Lincoln Ponders Fate Of Media Arm

By Staff Writer

June 08, 2007 at 02:32 PM

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A financial services company is deciding what to do about its television and radio stations.

Lincoln National Corp., Philadelphia, says it has hired investment bankers to "explore strategic options" for its media unit, which owns broadcast outlets in 7 markets.

The investment bankers also are looking at Lincoln National's Lincoln Financial Sports syndication and production business.

The unit is well-run, and, "at this time, there should be no assumption that this strategic review will result in any type of transaction," the company says in a comment about the strategic review.

Lincoln National will not be talking any more about the strategic review until it decides what it wants to do with the media and sports operations, the company says.

The media unit will generate only about $64 million in after-tax operating earnings in 2008 and might sell for about $1.5 billion, according to Andrew Kligerman, a securities analyst at UBS Investment Research, New York.

"Given that deployment of capital from potential divestiture would likely boost operating [earnings per share], we think a sale of the media segment would be well-received," Kligerman writes in a comment about the strategic review announcement.

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