regarded radio operator William Bungeroth to serve as President of Cumulus Broadcasting from new offices in Chicago's Hancock Center. Having a reputation as an advertising sales leader, Bungeroth oversaw market-level tactical execution, including the integration of newly acquired stations into market operating units. John Dickey, brother of Lewis and himself an experienced radio programming consultant. would oversee station content. SWIB's investment was soon followed by another $50 million from Wisconsin-based Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company and $25 million from NationsBank Capital Corporation. With this financial backing secured, Dickey and Weening began acquiring radio stations yet managed to stay "under the radar", not attracting much notice or competition. In its first 12 months in operation, Cumulus acquired over 100 stations in 31 markets. Soon it was clear that the company would need over a billion dollars for its desired acquisitions, and an initial public offering of stock was soon made. The Cumulus strategy, as articulated in public filings, was to acquire multiple stations in a city or market, consolidate them physically to share a common infrastructure to reduce operating expenses but enrich programming. Each station would be programmed with a unique music format, live programming, brand, and target audience. The central idea was to create a cluster of radio stations that could compete with newspapers by offering advertisers a range of target demographic choices comparable to the range of content sections in print. At the time of Cumulus' founding, newspaper display and classified advertising claimed the largest share of local advertising dollars. By offering a range of audiences like newspapers, Cumulus could gain a greater share of the local advertising dollar than the individual stations could garner separately. In addition, acquiring the top-performing stations in a given market as part of the operating cluster would yield more national advertising. The market focus would be on those deemed to offer substantial growth opportunities, while the station focus was the leading station in the market and other stations well-positioned for significant growth. Initial public offering and accelerating acquisitions Cumulus became a publicly traded company on June 26, 1998. The company raised $400 million selling 7.6 million common shares at $14.00 each, $125 million in preferred stock, and $160 million in Senior Subordinated Bonds. At that time Cumulus owned or was committed to buy 176 stations – 124 FM stations and 52 am stations in 34 U.S. markets. In its first 17 months, Cumulus