station trading

Meredith Corp. is close to walking away from its attempt to merge with Media Genera, allowing Nexstar Broadcasting Group to acquire the TV station owner after months of negotiation, according to people familiar with the matter.

The sale of KMYA Camden and KMYA-LP Sheridan, Mo., by I Square Media to LR Telecasting tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

The company reiterates why it thinks its deal is best. Nexstar CEO Perry Sook: “We intend to take any steps that may be necessary to allow us to consummate our agreed transaction with Media General.”

A Media General SEC filing yesterday recommends shareholders approve the new deal unveiled yesterday by Meredith. However, it reveals that Media General CEO Vincent Sadusky thinks the competing bid from Nexstar is a better one.

Nexstar reaches an agreement to buy Media General for $17.66 per share, but Meredith, which had earlier agreed to merge with Media General, isn’t ready to walk away. It now proposes a merger of equals, in which Media General shareholders would receive in return for each of their shares $3.90 in cash and one share in the new company valued at $14.94.

After months of negotiation, Nexstar agrees to pay $17.66 a share to acquire Media General. For more, see “Meredith, Nexstar Battle Over Media General”

A new report from SNL Kagan finds combined TV and radio station M&A in the quarter came to $486.8 million.

Ask Ed Ansin, the billionaire owner of current NBC affiliate WHDH Boston, about what’s going on between him and NBC and he’ll tell you. “They are trying to steal our station.”

Nexstar Broadcasting, the owner of 106 TV stations reaching 17% of U.S. households, is nearing a better-than-$2 billion deal to acquire rival Media General. “The gap has closed and they are getting closer,” two sources close to the situation said Tuesday.

The sale of KSPR Springfield, Mo., by Perkin Media to Schurz Communications tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

Gray and Schurz have entered into a proposed consent decree with the DOJ that requires the divestiture of television stations in the Wichita, Kan., and South Bend, Ind., markets.

Nexstar Broadcasting met this week with Media General director John Muse in an attempt to negotiate a buyout of the Richmond, Va., company. Media General, by authorizing the Muse meeting, is sidelining lead independent director Soohyung Kim of Standard General, sources said.

The sale of four West Virginia stations by West Virginia Media to Nexstar Broadcasting tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

Nexstar Broadcasting Group is planning to take its fight against Media General to the boardroom if the two sides can’t agree to merge. Nexstar is eyeing Media General’s board nominations that start on Dec. 28, as a prelude to mounting a challenger slate in a proxy battle.

Nexstar’s takeover bid of $16.31 per share for Media General “does not properly compensate our shareholders,” the board says, pointing out that it was just last August that Nexstar was willing to pay $17.

Nexstar CEO Perry Sook says negotiations to acquire Media General are at an impasse after Media General rejected its latest offer of $16.31 per share, a 46.3% premium over Media General stock price when Nexstar declared its interest in the company in September with a $14.50 offer. Media General has countered with an ask of $18.61. Analyst Marci Ryvicker says it’s likely not an impasse, simply a public negotiation, and parties will settle somewhere between the current bid and ask.

Nexstar last week privately offered a package about $16.30 a share in cash and stock based on Tuesday’s close, The Wall Street Journal is reporting, citing unnamed sources. Media General rejected that bid and instead made a counterproposal seeking about $18.60 a share, which Nexstar deemed too rich, the story says. The Nexstar proposal values Media General at about $1.85 billion. Journal subscribers can read the full story here.

The station group says opposition to its proposed deal for Anchorage MNT affiliate KYES Anchorage, Alaska, by telecom provider General Communication Inc. is “erroneous” and is an attempt to avoid competition.

Tegna Media announced today it has completed its acquisition of three Sander Media TV stations — KGW Portland, Ore. (DMA 24); WHAS Louisville, Ky. (DMA 49); and KMSB Tucson, Ariz. (DMA 70) — following approval from the FCC last week. Tegna has serviced these stations under shared services and similar arrangements since December 2013. With the addition of these three stations, Tegna said it owns the largest independent station group of major network affiliates in the top 25 markets, reaching approximately one-third of all television households nationwide.

Heartland USA Television, headed by Robert Prather, closed on the $38 million purchase of KHSL, the CBS affiliate in Chico, Calif., from primary shareholder Rick Gorman on Tuesday. In addition, Maxair Media, a company that Heartland holds a joints sales and service agreement with, closed on the $1.3 million purchase of KNVN, the NBC affiliate in Redding, Calif., from K4 Media. With the KHSL acquisition, Heartland now has five stations in its group.

The station group paid $160 million for the collection of TV and radio stations in Texas and Oklahoma. “This is a group of market leaders; each with a strong presence not only on the broadcast side of the business but also in digital and Spanish-language platforms,” says Raycom CEO Paul McTear.

Meredith Corp. is looking to sweeten the pot to complete a $2.4 billion merger with Media General and thwart a rival offer from Nexstar Broadcasting Group. Although it is technically getting acquired, Meredith, under CEO Steve Lacy, is considering a role reversal, whereby it would kick in cash to win the support of Media General’s board, sources say.

The seller is West Virginia Media Holdings. With subchannels, the four stations have seven affiliations with Big Four networks. Nexstar says it is paying 6.3 times 2015-16 cash flow of the stations, including synergies, The acquisition, subject to regulatory approval, is immediately accretive to its operating results, it says.

The company said that while Nexstar’s offer to buy the company that followed Media General’s announcement to merge with Meredith Corp. is undervalued, it will enter into talks with Nexstar. Nexstar says it’s eager to negotiate, but is sticking with its original offer of cash and stock that now amounts to $15.70 per share.

The FCC has approved the sale of six Texas stations in a deal that will quadruple the number of stations Raycom Media has in Texas. The $160 million purchase will likely be completed Dec. 1.

Media General’s board is leaning toward deciding that Nexstar Broadcasting’s acquisition offer is reasonably likely to be better for shareholders than its existing agreement to buy Meredith Corp., people with knowledge of the matter said, putting the Meredith deal in jeopardy.

The Wall Street Journal reports that activist investor Starboard Value LP on Tuesday said Media General was dragging its feet in agreeing to negotiations with Nexstar Broadcasting Group and exploring a merger of the two TV station companies. WSJ subscribers can read the full story here.

The sale of KHGI Kearney, KWNB Hayes Center, KHGI-CD North Platte, KHGI-LD O’Neill, KWNB-LD McCook, KFXL Lincoln, all Nebraska, by Pappas Telecasting to Sinclair Broadcast Group tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

The broadcast group pays $31.25 million to add to its portfolio the Nebraska stations KFXL Lincoln, KHGI Kearney, KHGI-LD O’Neill, KWNB-LD Hayes Center, KWNB-LD McCook and KHGI-CD North Platte.

The Schurz radio stations in the deal announced in September in South Bend, Ind., will go to Mid-West Family Broadcast Group; those in Lafayette, Ind., to Neuhoff Communications; and The HomeSlice Group gets the Rapid City, S.D., properties. the three deals will bring Gray $16 million.

The sale of KFWD-TV Fort Worth, Texas, from HIC Broadcasting Inc. to NRJ TV tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

Operating on ch. 9, KFWD is a MundoMax affiliate. The seller is family-owned HIC Broadcast Inc.

The sale of KAKE Wichita, KLBY Colby, KUPK Garden City, Kan., and four LPTV stations by Gray Television to Lockwood Broadcasting Group tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

Meredith said it believes due diligence will show the inferiority of Nexstar’s unsolicited offer for Media General. Meredith said it is “extremely confident that Meredith Media General has the potential to generate significant shareholder returns superior to Nexstar’s offer for Media General.”

The sale of three LPTV stations in North Dakota by Landover 2 LLC to Gray Television tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

The FCC ownership regulations have shaped (warped?) today’s broadcasting business in many ways and determined what kind of station deals can and cannot be done. For example, the 39% cap means many large groups can’t merge because they are at or near the limit. But it so complicates their ability to exit the business.

Meredith told employees in a memo this morning that both boards of directors have approved and signed a merger agreement and it remains “confident in the strategic rationale behind the merger and the shareholder value it will create.” The memo went on to say Meredith is working on closing the deal “in a timely fashion.’”

Media General’s $2.4 billion agreement to acquire Meredith Corp. is dead, two sources close to the deal said. One day after news that a second major Media General shareholder opposed the deal, it has become clear that there is not enough shareholder support to approve it, two sources close to the situation said Tuesday.

The sale of KAKE Wichita, Kan., by Gray Television to Lockwood Broadcasting Group tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Kelsey.

Another investor has lined up against Media General’s bid to buy Meredith Corp. Oppenheimer, which owns a 7% stake in Media General, is not supporting the transaction, according to a letter the investor wrote to the Richmond, Va.-based operator of 71 TV stations last weekend, two sources close to the situation say.