Belo Corp. has announced its shareholders voted in favor of approving and adopting the merger agreement with Gannett in a special meeting yesterday.
The deal has come under fire from groups who have petitioned the FCC to deny the merger. In July, Free Press along with other organizations told the FCC in a petition the companies are trying to skirt cross-ownership rules by transferring station licenses to third party companies they called ” covert consolidation arrangements.”
The merger is also undergoing further scrutiny from the the US Department of Justice which filed a “Second Request” with the companies for more information.
Gannett announced in June it would acquire Belo for nearly $2.2 Billion. If approved, the merger would make it the fourth largest owner of major network affiliates behind CBS, FOX Broadcasting and Sinclair Broadcasting.