Two private equity firms are buying local TV giant company Tegna in a $5.4 billion deal. Standard General and Apollo Global Management have partnered to acquire the company for $24 per share, an equity value of approximately $5.4 billion and an enterprise value of around $8.6 billion, according to the company. (Adweek)
It ends the battle for control of the company that began after Standard General became the largest holder of Tegna stock and Standard General head Soo Kim attempted to gain seats on the Tegna board. (Poynter)
Tegna—spun off from newspaper giant Gannett in 2015 as a separate, publicly traded company—operates 64 TV and two radio stations across 54 U.S. markets. (NY Post)
Apollo had been in talks to acquire the company two years ago, but ended discussions as the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic upended markets. Negotiations were rebooted last year and the parties have been haggling over issues, including Tegna’s concerns that regulators would nix any sale given Apollo’s ownership stake in competitor Cox Media Group. (Bloomberg)
The new station group announced Deb McDermott will take over for Dave Lougee as chief executive officer and Kim will serve as chairman of a new Board. McDermott currently serves as CEO of Standard Media and has more than 20 years of experience leading broadcast groups, including previously serving as COO of Media General and as CEO and president of Young Broadcasting. (TVSpy)