BUYER MAKES WMHQ DEAL OFFICIAL.(BUSINESS)

Byline: Staff and wire reports

Baltimore-based Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. made formal its agreement to purchase the rights to operate WMHQ (Channel 45) from WMHT Telecommunications for $23 million in cash and turn it into a commercial station.

The purchase of WMHQ continues a string of acquisitions that Sinclair said helped boost second-quarter revenue almost 28 percent. The company said it will borrow money to finance the transaction.

``We are excited about the prospects for WMHQ-TV in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy television market,'' David Smith, Sinclair's chief executive, said in a statement. ``We expect the station will become a first-class …