Evening Post Industries, the family-owned Charleston company that grew out of the city’s newspaper business, has agreed to sell most of its television business for $521 million.

The E.W. Scripps Co. of Cincinnati said Monday it will buy 15 television stations in 10 markets from Cordillera Communications, which is owned by Evening Post Industries. The two sides signed the purchase agreement Saturday, according to a Scripps filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Scripps will pay cash.

The stations employ about 700 people, Scripps said. None of them is in South Carolina.

Scripps is not buying Cordillera’s remaining station, in Tucson, Arizona, because it already runs two stations in that market, the company said.

The deal needs regulatory approval. Scripps expects to close it in the first quarter of 2019.

What changes hands

The stations are WLEX, the NBC affiliate in Lexington, Kentucky; KOAA, the NBC affiliate in Colorado Springs, Colorado; KATC, the ABC affiliate in Lafayette, Louisiana; KSBY, the NBC affiliate in the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, California, market; and KRIS, the NBC affiliate, and KAJA, a Telemundo affiliate, in Corpus Christi, Texas, according to Scripps.

The other nine are in Montana: KPAX and KAJJ, a CBS affiliate in Missoula; KTVQ, a CBS affiliate in Billings; KXLF and KBZK, the CBS affiliate in the Butte and Bozeman market; KRTV, the CBS affiliate, and KTGF, the NBC affiliate, in Great Falls; and KTVH, the NBC affiliate, and KXLH, the CBS affiliate, in Helena.

All but one of the stations rank No. 1 in their markets, Scripps said.

Scripps put Cordillera’s blended revenue, combining actual 2017 results and estimated 2018 results, at $158 million, with $63 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Adjusted for expected savings and net of tax benefits, the price works out to 7.2 times that earnings figure, the company said.

Scripps will pay for the stations with an additional term loan underwritten by Wells Fargo. It expects its total leverage ratio, net of cash, to be about 4.8 times at closing, including expected savings, according to the announcement.

Methuselah Advisors was Cordillera’s financial adviser, and Cooley LLP was its legal adviser. BakerHostetler advised Scripps.

Why Scripps wants them

The purchase would give Scripps 51 stations in 36 markets, reaching nearly 21% of U.S. television households, the company said. It also adds NBC and CBS stations to a group built largely on ABC affiliates, and gives Scripps two stations each in Helena, Great Falls and Corpus Christi.

“Through this transaction, Scripps will operate the No. 1-rated TV stations in a third of its markets, enhancing the durability of our portfolio,” said Brian Lawlor, Scripps’ president of local media.

Adam Symson, Scripps’ president and CEO, said the company is not done.

“In addition to the immediate benefits to our portfolio’s operating performance, this deal leaves Scripps with the capability to continue to pursue incremental and transformative deals for television stations,” Symson said.

A Charleston media company

Evening Post Industries traces its start to 1896, when Arthur Manigault, a rice planter, formed the Evening Post Publishing Co., according to the company. The Manigault family has owned it ever since.

The company began buying television assets in 1974, after Peter Manigault and his senior leadership team, Frank Gilbreth Jr. and Hall McGee Jr., set out to balance the economic cycles of the newspaper business, the company says. Peter Manigault’s son, Pierre Manigault, is the chairman.

Today, the company says, it owns newspaper, television, interactive, real estate and forestry investments, and its management team is pursuing a strategy to diversify beyond its media base.

“The carefully considered acquisition focus will further diversify the company from its media base to provide consistent profitability in a wide range of economic conditions,” the company says on its website.

Evening Post Industries lists its address as 134 Columbus St. in Charleston. Neither Scripps’ announcement nor its filing said what the Charleston company plans to do with the proceeds, and the announcement did not include a comment from Evening Post Industries.