U.S. TV station operator Tegna Inc will be acquired by Standard General for $5.4 billion in an all-cash deal, ending a years-long battle by the shareholder.
Standard General’s $24 per share offer is at a premium of about 15% to Tegna’s closing price on Friday. Tysons, Virginia-based Tegna’s shares advanced about 8% before the opening bell.
The U.S. media industry is going through a rapid consolidation to better compete, attract more subscriptions and to appeal to advertisers.
Tegna operates 64 news brands in 51 U.S. markets, along with networks, including True Crime Network and Quest, according to its website. Standard General owns four TV stations.
Tegna also has an advertising platform called Premion that places advertisements alongside long-form and live streaming content across networks.
Standard General, which is Tegna’s fourth-largest shareholder, had nominated four members to the company’s board in 2020, arguing that stock has underperformed and changes are needed.
Standard General and Apollo Global Management had reportedly offered to buy Tegna last year and raised their offer shortly after. In November, media entrepreneur Byron Allen had raised $10 billion to fund his bid for Tegna.
Apollo and its subsidiary Cox Media Group will also hold securities in the new company without voting rights and Tegna’s stations in Austin, Dallas and Houston are expected to be acquired by Cox from Standard General.
The enterprise value of the deal, is expected to close in the second half of 2022, is about $8.6 billion, including the assumption of debt, the companies said on Tuesday.
Deb McDermott, currently the chief executive officer of Standard Media, will become the CEO of a new board.
Source: Reuters.com