Radio stations sold

CFOB-FM (B•93), as well as its sister stations in Dryden and Kenora (CKDR-FM and CJRL-FM), have been acquired by Acadia Broadcasting Ltd., a company owned by East Coast magnate John E. Irving.
The acquisition of the stations—owned for decades by Fawcett Broadcasting Ltd.—was approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on April 16 but only finalized May 1.
“We are very pleased to acquire this longtime family-owned group of radio stations,” Acadia vice-president Jim MacMullin said in a press release confirming the purchase of the stations.
“[They] share many similarities with our existing operations in the Maritimes, including forestry and tourism-based economies, similar lifestyles, and a programming philosophy committed to the communities being served,” he added.
“We welcome the Fawcett stations to the Acadia family, and are excited about the many new opportunities this brings for both Acadia Broadcasting and Northwoods Broadcasting [a subsidiary of Acadia],” noted MacMullin.
The purchase of Fawcett Broadcasting’s stations also includes repeater stations in Atikokan, Ear Falls, Hudson, Ignace, Red Lake, and Sioux Lookout.
The Fawcett family had owned CFOB since 1960 with the exception of a five-year-period between 1966 and 1971.
CJRL and CKDR were purchased by the late Donald Fawcett in 1971.
Acadia currently operates three radio stations in the Maritimes—two in New Brunswick and one in Nova Scotia.
John Irving and his brothers, Arthur and James, are ranked by Forbes magazine as the third-richest family in Canada, with a net worth of $5.8 billion.
They fall behind only the Thomson family ($22 billion) and Galen Weston ($7.9 billion), according to Forbes’ 2007 rankings.
The Irving family’s business interests range from oil, pulp and paper, and shipbuilding to food processing, real estate, and newspapers.