Out of style?

Has Styles Media Group LLC bitten off more than it can chew? The small Florida-based broadcaster turned heads in L.A. radio circles last August by announcing that it was paying $120 million for a Spanish-language station in Los Angeles and its simulcast partner in the Inland Empire and then converting both to a mix of hip-hip aimed at listeners in their 20s and 30s.

In its first foray into a major market, Styles Media Group revived the KDAY call letters for its new property--harking back to the 1980s when KDAY was the first around-the-clock rap station in the United States.

Although Styles Media has been operating KDAY, it still has not closed the purchase from the station's owner, Spanish Broadcasting System Inc. The deal suffered another setback when Styles acknowledged that a group of investors had backed out of a plan to help finance the deal.

Styles Media and Spanish Broadcasting now say that the purchase won't close until Jan. 3 I, 2006, nearly a year after the planned transaction date--if at all.

Russ Oasis, a Miami-based radio entrepreneur, said he and other investors backed out of the partnership with Styles because the company insisted on continuing to operate KDAY. Oasis said he had no plans to change the station's format but wanted operational control. "We don't finance anything that I don't run," Oasis said.

Styles executives continued to express optimism that they would be able to close the deal. "The devil is in the details," said Styles Media CEO Don McCoy.

Spanish Broadcasting System declined to speculate on the fate of the station as Styles struggles to come up with the cash. If the deal falls through, Spanish Broadcasting could take back day-to-day control of KDAY and operate it in any format.