MSG Buys Into Townsquare

The Wall Street Journal evaluated MSG’s 3.2 million shares of Townsquare as worth about $30 million. Those shares are Class A shares, which give the entertainment juggernaut more voting privileges.

Townsquare’s diverse portfolio includes radio stations, events like Taste of Country Music Festival and Mountain Jam, and websites like XXL.com and BrooklynVegan.com.

“These guys really excel and are a perfect complement to what we are building at Azoff MSG Entertainment,” Azoff, chairman and CEO of Azoff MSG Entertainment said in a statement. “When this opportunity presented itself, my partners at MSG enthusiastically invested.”

MSG, which owns venues and sports teams, separated its media assets into a stand-alone company, MSG Networks, last year.

Steven Price, Townsquare’s chairman and CEO, said there is no doubt his company will benefit greatly from close collaboration with MSG. Price also purchased 50,000 shares in common stock that will convert to Class A shares.