Scripps rejects Sinclair's hostile bid
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
E.W. Scripps on Tuesday said its board of directors has unanimously rejected a $538 million unsolicited takeover bid from larger peer Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Why it matters: Kim Williams, Scripps' board chair, said Sinclair's offer to buy out the remainder of Scripps' shares that it doesn't own for $7 apiece is "not in the best interests of Scripps and its shareholders."
- "The board nonetheless remains open to evaluating opportunities to enhance shareholder value and will continue to consider any course of action, including any acquisition proposal, that is in the best interest of all shareholders," she added.
- Sinclair did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Catch up quick:Sinclair last month proposed buying out the remainder of Scripps' shares, after increasing its position in the company to 9.9%.
- The company said it believed the "the strategic and financial rationale of a potential Sinclair – Scripps combination is indisputable."
- Scripps' board shortly after adopted a shareholder rights plan, known as a "poison pill" tactic, to deflect the hostile bid.
- The shareholder rights plan, which will expire in one year, was meant to buy Scripps' board more time as it considers other strategic alternatives.
The big picture: Sinclair is one of several local broadcasters eyeing deals, amid what it thought would be a prime era for consolidation under Trump's FCC.
- Nexstar agreed to buy Tegna in a deal valued at over $6 billion.
- Apollo Global Management earlier this year was looking to sell its majority stake in Cox Media Group.
Yes, but: Most major local broadcast deals would require the FCC to roll back decades-old broadcast ownership rules.
- President Trump has said that he opposes lifting the ownership cap that currently inhibits any single broadcaster from reaching more than 39% of U.S. households.
- His FCC Chair Brendan Carr has not made a decision about what he plans to do, but has long been a proponent of lifting the cap.
