Sinclair Broadcast Group is set to acquire Tribune Media Company for approximately\u00a0$3.9 billion.<\/p>\n
Sinclair will pay $43.50\u00a0per share, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately\u00a0$3.9 billion, plus the assumption of approximately\u00a0$2.7 billion\u00a0in net debt. Tribune owns and\/or operates 42 television stations in 33 markets across the U.S., cable network WGN America, digital multicast network Antenna TV, minority stakes in the TV Food Network and CareerBuilder, and a variety of real estate assets.<\/p>\n
In order to comply with FCC ownership requirements and antitrust regulations, Sinclair may sell certain stations in markets where it currently owns stations.<\/p>\n
“This is a transformational acquisition for Sinclair that will open up a myriad of opportunities for the company,” commented\u00a0Chris Ripley, the president and CEO of Sinclair. “The Tribune stations are highly complementary to Sinclair’s existing footprint and will create a leading nationwide media platform that includes our country’s largest markets. The acquisition will enable Sinclair to build ATSC 3.0 (Next Generation Broadcast Platform) advanced services, scale emerging networks and national sales, and integrate content verticals. The acquisition will also create substantial synergistic value through operating efficiencies, revenue streams, programming strategies and digital platforms.”<\/p>\n
“This will be the largest acquisition in our company’s history, and I want to thank everyone from the Sinclair team, as well as our advisors and bankers who made this possible,” commented\u00a0David Smith, executive chairman of Sinclair. “Television broadcasting is even more relevant today, especially when it comes to serving our local communities. Tribune’s stations allow Sinclair to strengthen our commitment to serving local communities and to advance the Next Generation Broadcast Platform. This acquisition will be a turning point for Sinclair, allowing us to better serve our viewers and advertisers while creating value for our shareholders.”<\/p>\n
“Today’s announcement is the culmination of an extensive strategic review, which has delivered significant value to our stockholders,” added Peter Kern, Tribune’s CEO. “Since we announced the strategic review 15 months ago, we have streamlined the business, monetized non-core assets, strengthened our balance sheet and returned more than\u00a0$800 million\u00a0to stockholders\u2014all of which has resulted in a 50 percent increase in stockholder value. We are extremely proud to join Sinclair, and we’re excited that Tribune stockholders and employees will have the opportunity to participate in the long-term growth of the combined company.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sinclair Broadcast Group is set to acquire Tribune Media Company for approximately $3.9 billion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":350,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[1137,1102],"class_list":["post-7945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","","category-top-stories","tag-sinclair-broadcast-group","tag-tribune-media-company"],"yoast_head":"\n