[Transcript]
Off-camera voice: Sound speeds.
[Truist Securities]
[Truist logo]
[David Cerullo, CEO, INSP, LLC]
David Cerullo: My name is David Cerullo. I'm the chairman and CEO of INSP. INSP is a number of things. Primarily, we're a linear cable television network. We also have a film production company, and you can see some of the sets behind us.
[Aaron Topp, Managing Director, Media, Telecommunications, and Entertainment Investment Banking, Truist Securities]
Aaron Topp: They have a mix of classic Western shows, and they mix that with modern, family friendly TV shows and movies. My father-in-law is a huge fan of INSP. My kids watch it with him as well. They understand that what he's watching are the superheroes of his day.
David: A lot of change is taking place in the greater landscape of what's happening in media today. You have over-the-air broadcast stations, you have linear cable television channels, the streaming business, FAST channels. We're just one small piece of that.
[To compete, INSP needed to diversify.]
[To diversify, INSP turned to Truist Securities.]
David: For a number of years, we've looked at ways that we can deploy capital to grow the business, to reduce the risk of being a one-trick pony, so to speak. Aaron's first step was to really, to understand who are we, who is INSP, and to learn how he could then present us projects that would be of interest.
Aaron: We started talking more intensively about what an investment in the TV station sector could look like, and we ended up getting David into the process as a potential buyer.
David: Local broadcast channels bring a lot of, not just entertainment, but information value to a local community that a national cable network can't possibly bring, which was important to us.
Aaron: We faced a number of unique challenges. For starters, this was INSP's first acquisition in the TV space.
David: We spent a lot of time with Truist trying to understand, what can we afford, what happens if interest rates go up. You can't control all factors of the marketplace, but we felt comfortable with the numbers. Aaron brought in a team of bankers, of M&A people to basically walk through the negotiations. When you're dealing with venture capital firms and you're a small company, sometimes you get to a point in negotiations where you really are tempted to say to the other side, "We're done."
Aaron: We knew that even after signing, INSP would have to have a good, positive relationship with the selling company, and so part of our job was to hear the frustration on both sides at times, but keep that frustration from each other to continue to get the deal to progress forward.
[This M&A transaction effectively doubled INSP.]
[INSP grew from 350 employees à 850 employees]
[INSP grew from $200M annual revenue à $400M annual revenue]
David: With Aaron and Truist's help, we have effectively doubled the size of our company with this acquisition. We've gone from 350 employees or so to about 850. Our revenues have gone from about $200 million a year to now $400 million a year. Truist clearly has the expertise to help us do more. They understand us, they care about us, they're our partners. They've made that clear.
Aaron: We want to position David and his team for success. The plan for us and for them is to continue to look for ways to grow this TV station business that they just bought into.
[Imagine tomorrow. Build it today.]
The results [US map icon] INSP owns and operates 40 broadcast stations (including major network affiliates) in 12 markets across the U.S. [profit line graph icon] INSP’s annual revenue increased from about $200 million to about $400 million. [person icon] The number of employees of INSP increased from about 350 to about 850. [house and tree icon] INSP has a local presence in communities in Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington. Source: INSP, LLC.
