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US: Sinclair may appease FCC with US$1b in station sales

By  |  October 17, 2017

The Sinclair Broadcast Group has taken bids for up to 10 of its stations (up to US$1 billion worth) as it looks to solidify approval for its US$3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, October 17.

Preliminary bids for the stations were submitted last week, said one of Bloomberg’s sources, who asked not to be identified because the process wasn’t public. Sinclair may sell some or all of the outlets, all in different markets, the people said.

According to Bloomberg, the process is private, but preliminary bids came in last week. Station divestments are surely coming as part of FCC approvals, since overlaps in the two companies would put the combination about six points over the maximum allowed reach of 39% of US television homes.

Sinclair, based in Hunt Valley, Maryland, wants to buy stations in 33 markets from Chicago-based Tribune. The company would have 233 stations, with a presence in 39 of the top 50 markets, according to a Sinclair presentation to investors that calls the resulting combination “the largest broadcasting group.”

Full Content: Bloomberg

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