Where Do You Find $21 Million To Buy a TV Station?

I'm working at the cafe this morning but of course, have to take time to blog---hey, that's my day job! So I picked up BusinessWest and of course turned to the story of the month: Publisher John Gormally's purchase of abc40, the Springfield MA television station.

The news is good. He's buying the station from Baltimore-based Sinclair Broadcast Inc, so this important outlet will again be in local hands. He recalled William L. Putnam, who owned the station in the 70s and his famous and controversial editorials, and commented slyly that he 'wouldn't rule that out.

But the story about Gormally in his own BusinessWest left out a glaring question that's been bugging me since I first read about this purchase. How did he get $21.2 million in cash to buy it?

Nowhere in this long article does editor George O'Brien broach this delicate, yet crucial question. Yeah the magazine sells ads but come on--TWENTY MILLION? Who are the silent funding partners, who put up the big bucks to pull this off? Even the bigger Valley players don't flash that kind of cash, even Eric Suher doesn't make purchases in high double digit millions.

Come on, fess up John....where did all that cash come from?