Meruelo Group to acquire KWHY Channel 22 Los Angeles

The Meruelo Group has reached an agreement to acquire KWHY-TV, an NBCU-owned television station in Los Angeles, California. The news was announced today by Meruelo, NBCU and Bahia Honda LLC. The acquisition is subject to approval by the FederalCommunications Commission.“We look forward to continuing KWHY’s proud tradition as we bring the very best in entertainment, news, and community affairs programming to the people of Los Angeles, while at the same time establishing KWHY as a powerful business partner to advertisers across Southern California” commented Alex Meruelo, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Meruelo Group.The Meruelo Group is a diversified privately-held holding and investment company founded by U.S. Latino business executive Alex Meruelo.Bahia Honda LLC, which is managed by José Cancela, a respected and highly qualified professional with more than 30 years experience in Hispanic broadcasting, is a divestiture trust formed under the FCC’s rules to operate the station and oversee its sale in the event that the sale had not been completed by close of Comcast’s acquisition of a 51% ownership interest in NBC Universal.The Comcast-NBC transaction received regulatory approval on January 18, 2011, and closed January 29. Concurrently with the closing of that transaction, NBC Universal will place KWHY into the Bahia Honda divestiture trust which will administer the finalstages of the sale and the regulatory process.The Meruelo Group’s purchase of KWHY is expected to be completed by mid-year.