Nexstar Media Group Dec. 3 announced it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Tribune Media Company to acquire all outstanding shares of Tribune Media in a cash deal valued at $6.4 billion, including the assumption of Tribune Media’s outstanding ($2.3 billion) debt.
The transaction makes Irving, Texas-based Nexstar the largest local TV station owner in the country, including 216 stations in 118 markets – reaching approximately 39% of U.S. television households. Tribune also owns 31% stake in Food Network.
The combined entity will be one of the nation’s leading providers of local news, entertainment, sports, lifestyle and network programming through its broadcast and digital media platforms with annual revenue of approximately $4.6 billion.
Notable Tribune stations include WGN America in Chicago and KTLA in Los Angeles. WGN became one of the first local broadcasters to ink production deals for original (now cancelled) series, including “Salem” from 20thCentury Fox, “Manhattan” (Lionsgate), and “Underground” (Sony Pictures), among others.
The deal is expected to close by the third-quarter next year following regulatory approvals.
“Nexstar has long viewed the acquisition of Tribune Media as a strategically, financially and operationally compelling opportunity that brings immediate value to shareholders of both companies,” Perry Sook, CEO of Nexstar, said in a statement.
Sook said the transaction offers synergies ($160 million in the first year) related to the enhanced scale of the combined broadcast and digital media operations and increases the company’s audience reach by about 50%.
The deal follows the scuttled $3.9 billion merger attempt between Tribune and Sinclair Broadcasting Group, which imploded following allegations the politically conservative Sinclair would have positioned Tribune stations as far-right partisan mouthpieces.
The new transaction reflects a 15.5% premium for Tribune Media shareholders and a 45% premium to Tribune’s closing price on July 16, the day FCC Ajit Pai issued a statement regarding his intention to hold a hearing on the Sinclair offer.
The Nexstar/Tribune deal faces its own regulatory hurdles under the current FCC and Department of Justice, which together under the direction of the Trump Administration, have taken stronger approaches toward media mergers as seen in the DOJ’s ongoing appeal of the AT&T/Time Warner pact.
Indeed, Nexstar said it intends to divest certain TV stations necessary to comply with regulatory ownership limits and may also divest other assets it deems to be non-core.