Jim Pattison Radio Group is acquiring nine stations in Alberta and Saskatchewan from Rawlco Radio for an undisclosed amount.

The stations involved in the sale are:

Edmonton: Adult Hits “Up 99.3” CIUP and Hot AC “102.3 Now” CKNW

Prince Albert, SK: Country 900 CKBI, CHR “Power 99” CFMM, Rock “Mix 101” CHQK, and PANow.com

North Battleford, SK: Country 1050 CJNB, Hot AC “Q98” CJCQ, and Rock “99.3 The Rock” CJHD

Meadow Lake, SK: Country 102.3 CJNS-FM

Rawlco will retain its seven stations in Calgary, Regina, and Saskatoon.

The current local management teams will continue to lead the Edmonton, Prince Albert, North Battleford and Meadow Lake stations and all of the existing team members at the nine Rawlco Radio stations will be offered positions and the opportunity to grow with the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group. Rawlco Radio will continue to hold their existing seven radio licences in Saskatoon, Regina and Calgary.

Jim Pattison, Chairman & CEO of the Jim Pattison Group explained, “The Rawlinson family have built a great legacy in Canadian broadcasting with the first purchase of CKBI Radio in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in 1946. I thank Rawlco Radio CEO, Gordon Rawlinson, for allowing us the opportunity to continue building on his family’s history in the radio industry, especially in the province of Saskatchewan, with which we both have close ties.”
Gordon Rawlinson, CEO of Rawlco Radio Ltd. stated, “When we were approached by the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, I was impressed with how their style of operating radio stations was very similar to ours. They have an outstanding reputation of providing excellent local radio with a keen focus on community service. I was also pleased with the Pattison commitment to provide opportunities for all of the current Rawlco employees to grow their careers with Pattison. I am confident that these stations will be in very good hands.”

Rick Arnish, Jim Pattison Broadcast Group’s Chairman stated, “Continuing to grow our presence in Western Canada has always been and clearly remains a top priority for our Broadcast division. I’ve approached Gordon Rawlinson several times for many years that, I am pleased to say, has resulted in this terrific opportunity for us to enter Edmonton, Prince Albert, North Battleford and Meadow Lake. The opportunity to join forces with this highly reputable and industry-leading company is very attractive to us, and we’re most excited to have this opportunity to grow in markets that mirror our other Western Canadian radio and television stations.”

Arnish went on to say, “I have the utmost respect for the Rawlinson family, and it will be our Broadcast division’s focus to continue to serve the community and listeners in Edmonton and Saskatchewan with the same high-quality programming and commitment to community as they are accustomed to with Rawlco Radio. Our history has been built on acquisitions and new licences, as we are great believers in the future of radio. This purchase is part of our strategic plan to grow and expand in the west.”

Rod Schween, Jim Pattison Broadcast Group’s President added, “The addition of these nine well-run Rawlco Radio stations will complement our broadcast properties in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba. This is an extremely important acquisition between our two broadcasting companies, offering us the opportunity to add operations that are highly compatible and operate under a similar vision. We are very enthusiastic to work with and learn from our new valued team members and local management. Schween went on to say, “Subject to regulatory approval of this acquisition, we are confident that it will benefit the Canadian radio industry as a whole and allow Pattison to continue competing against some of Canada’s largest national players who are well-established in the West.”

The sale is subject to approval from the Canadian Radio-Television & Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), for which an application was recently submitted. This sale follows the successful recent Pattison acquisition of three Bell Media radio stations in Calgary and Winnipeg (CKCE-FM, CHIQ-FM & CFQX-FM) and the launch in April 2014 of the much anticipated CHPK-FM in Calgary and the Alberta Peak Performance Project.

As part of the terms of sale, Pattison has also agreed to purchase paNOW.com, an online newspaper serving the residents of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and the surrounding area.