WVU Foundation has ditched Bray, Media holdings.

[genlock]

WVU foundation no longer has ties to media
by George Hohmann
Daily Mail Business Editor
Some bloggers commenting on Bray Cary's recent interview with WVU President Mike Garrison reported that the WVU Foundation has an investment in Cary's media company. That is no longer true, according to foundation spokesman Bill Nevin.

The Daily Mail reported in 2004 that the foundation had invested $7 million in Cary's company, West Virginia Media Holdings. At the time, executives with WVU's fundraising arm defended the deal as a sound financial move and said they hoped to get a good return.

West Virginia Media Holdings owns WTRF-TV in Wheeling, WOWK-TV in Huntington, WBOY-TV in Clarksburg, WVNS-TV in Ghent, and the State Journal.

Earlier this week I asked Nevin, WVU Foundation's director of communications, if the organization still has an investment in West Virginia Media Holdings.

"The answer to that is no," Nevin replied. "We have not been a shareholder in West Virginia Media since January 2007."

Nevin would not say why the foundation got out of its investment after only a few years. Nor would he say whether the foundation made a profit or loss.

"Our investments are private so I'm not really going to comment on them in particular," he said. "I'm not willing to get into details about specific investments."

The foundation is a nonprofit and, therefore, its tax returns are public. According to its tax return for the period from Jan. 1, 2004, to June 30, 2005 - the most recent available - the foundation had an $8 million investment in West Virginia Media Holdings at that time.

The investment was comprised of $2 million in West Virginia Media Holdings stock and $6 million of company debt paying an annual interest rate of 8.61 percent.