N.Y.C. signs Rothschild as adviser on radio station's sale.

The New York City Economic Development Corp. has appointed Rothschild Inc. as its financial adviser for the sale of WNYC-FM, New York's FM public radio station.

Rothschild has served as a financial adviser on $1.2 billion of transactions in the mass communications business. In this case, the firm will help the city search for parties interested in purchasing WNYC-FM.

The city estimates that selling the station will raise $45 million toward balancing the $31.6 billion budget for fiscal 1995, which began July 1.

The city faces a whopping $1.4 billion gap in fiscal 1995, the city comptroller's office said on Friday. That is $400 million more than Mayor Rudolph Giuliani projected about a month ago.

Last week, Economic Development Corp. spokeswoman Ellen Weiman said a number of "interested parties" are considering buying the city's radio station. She would name only the WNYC Foundation, a private interest group headed by 15 business and media magnates.

Wilbur L. Ross Jr., senior managing director at Rothschild, said the firm has yet to determine the station's value. Ross would not comment on the city's estimate of $45 million from the sale.

"We're still trying to understand all the functions and values of the station," Ross said. Rothschild will publish the results of its evaluation in November, he said.

Rothschild's appointment resulted from a request for proposals mailed by the Economic Development Corp. to firms interested in helping the city privatize city assets.

Many Wall Street analysts have said that city hall overestimates the revenues that can be obtained through asset sales.

Weiman of the Economic Development Corp. would not say if the city's $45 million projection is solid.

The city created the Economic Development Corp. in 1991 to promote economic development. Under Giuliani, the agency has launched a major effort to privatize city-owned buildings and other properties.

In August, the corporation selected J.P. Morgan Securities to help sell the United Nation's Plaza Hotel. The city has projected that the sale of the hotel will add $65 million to fiscal 1995 revenues.

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