Rocking M Media Moves To Sell Its Remaining Stations At Bankruptcy Auction.

This article first appeared on www.insideradio.com

A federal judge in Kansas has not yet given his approval, but it appears likely that the remaining Rocking M Media stations will be sold. The company, which has been in the middle of an increasingly contentious bankruptcy reorganization, last week asked the court to go forward with the sale. Broker Greg Guy, who led the process for selling the first group of Rocking M stations last year, has again been tapped to oversee the sale of the remaining 10 stations owned by the company.

“The debtors have determined, with the advice and assistance of their professionals, to pursue a sale of all the remaining radio stations,” Rocking M attorneys said in a filing in U.S. District Court in Kansas City. It says that “in the interest of time” and to “maintain maximum flexibility” with respect to the proposed sale, Rocking M has decided not to bother having what it says could be “lengthy discussions and negotiations” with prospective buyers in order to select a so-called stalking horse that would create a minimum price for the stations. Instead, they will simply seek out any qualified bids for the stations, with the goal of getting as much as they can in a court auction. Whatever bids that Rocking M does receive, they will need court approval.

Here are the 10 stations still owned by Rocking M Media:

  • Dodge City, KS: classic hits “Super Hits 95.5 KAHE, regional Mexican “La Mexicana” KZRD (93.9), country “96.3 The Marshal” KERP, and talk KGNO (1370)
  • Goodland, KS: classic rock “102.5 U-Rock” KKCI, “Fox Sports 730” KLOE
  • Colby, KS: hot AC “The Ride 100.3” KRDQ, “Flyover Country 97.9” KWGB, classic country KXXX (790)
  • Liberal, KS: regional Mexican “La Mexicana” KSMM (101.5)

Judge Dale Somers has not yet approved the request to move forward with an auction, so no dates have been set for when it will take place.

Rocking M said last month that it was working with a group of secured creditors to craft a plan that would lead to the sale of “most if not all” of the company’s remaining stations. Rocking M apparently already had at least one party express interest. Court filings show that an unidentified buyer has offered $3 million to buy the ten stations.

Company founders Monte and Doris Miller had hoped to hold onto to some of their assets as a base to remain in radio, and potentially rebuild Rocking M. But in recent months that has seemed a less likely outcome of the bankruptcy reorganization.

Rocking M’s auction last year of a dozen Kansas stations in Wichita, Salina-Manhattan, and the Great Bend-Hays markets, as well as in several small towns in the state, attracted bids totaling $1,988,674. But with debts totaling about $8.5 million, the proceeds were well short of what was needed, and it opened the need for the company to split with more of its stations.

Rocking M filed for bankruptcy in March 2022 and tensions have been rising between the company and its two big creditors – KS StateBank and Belate – which have said the reorganization plan drafted by the company was “not feasible.” At their request, Somers said in September that unless an agreement is worked out between Rocking M and its creditors, he would authorize the bankruptcy trustee to sell the assets. Last month a creditors committee was appointed to represent the lenders in the proceeding. They have the right to draft a new reorganization plan, including the ability to decide whether the stations are sold.

The family-owned company traces its origins back to the 1900s, beginning with the Bellville Telescope newspaper. CEO Monte Miller and his wife Doris formed Rocking M Media in 2007 with their son Christopher serving as President.

The bankruptcy filing blames the son for the rapid expansion of the company that brought on several issues. Christopher Miller was removed from the company in 2019 and earlier this year he accused his parents of providing a “false history” to the court, saying he has become a “handy scapegoat.”