Disney shareholders to get less from radio deal

Walt Disney Co. shareholders will receive $100 million less than expected from the merger of the company’s ABC radio unit with Citadel Broadcasting Corp.

Shareholders will get $300 million less cash than originally planned, Las Vegas-based Citadel said. In exchange, they will receive $200 million more stock and own 57% of the new company, up from 52%.

“We changed the formula,” Disney spokeswoman Zenia Mucha said. “We agreed to an amendment to facilitate the closing.”

Citadel renegotiated debt financing for the merger after ABC Radio’s sales fell below expectations, Citadel’s Chief Financial Officer Farid Suleman said in an Aug. 21 Wall Street Journal story.