• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, November 16, 2012

Competitive networks Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel will become part of a new NASDAQ-listed public company, which will also include a slew of related magazines, such as Guns & Ammo and Wildfowl.
 
The move is the result of a transaction between the private-equity InterMedia Partners and the publicly traded Outdoor Channel Holdings. InterMedia will control the new entity once the deal is completed, which is expected early next year.
 
For each of their shares, the stockholders of Outdoor Channel (subject to proration) will get either $8 or a share in the new InterMedia Outdoor Holdings. Outdoor Channel’s share price closed at $7.52 on Friday.
 
InterMedia’s Sportsman Channel is in some 30 million homes. Outdoor Channel is in more then 38 million. InterMedia owns a portfolio of 15 magazines covering various aspects of outdoor sports.
 
Outdoor Channel CEO Tom Hornish will become CEO of the combined business. Tom Allen, also of Outdoor Channel, will hold the COO and CFO roles.
 
Gavin Harvey, Sportsman Channel CEO, will become president of the TV networks. Jeff Paro will oversee the publishing entities as part of the president’s role.
 
Outdoor Channel posted nearly $12 million in ad sales in the July-September quarter and earned above $5 million in affiliate fees.
 
Leo Hindery, a managing partner at InterMedia, helped launch the Yes Network, where he served as CEO for several years. Before that, he ran AT&T Broadband, a huge cable operator acquired by Comcast. InterMedia’s other managing partner Peter Kern has lengthy experience as a media investor.

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