NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Sinclair has submitted a bid to buy out E.W. Scripps for $7 per share, in a deal that could bring further consolidation across America’s local TV news landscape.
Under the proposal, which Sinclair disclosed Monday, the broadcast giant would acquire all of Scripps’ outstanding shares that it doesn’t already own. Sinclair has already upped its stake in Scripps recently — accounting for nearly 10% of the company’s class A common stock as of Nov. 17, per regulatory filings.
The proposed $7 per share price tag would consist of both cash and stock. If approved, the deal would give Scripps’ shareholders about a 12.7% stake of the combined company upon closing.
Sinclair is requesting a response from Scripps by Dec. 5.
“We are submitting an updated, actionable merger proposal,” Sinclair CEO Christopher S. Ripley wrote in a letter to Scripps’ board. He said the deal would “strengthen local journalism” and “position the combined company and employees for long-term success.”
Ohio-based Scripps acknowledged that it had received an “unsolicited acquisition proposal” from Sinclair on Monday. The company said its board would review it like any other offer — and determine next steps based on the interests of its stakeholders and “audiences it serves across the United States.”
Scripps previously said it would also protect itself from any “opportunistic actions of Sinclair or anyone else.”
Shares of E.W. Scripps Co. jumped more than 5% Monday, trading at about $4.30 apiece as of 2: 30 p.m. ET. Sinclair’s stock slipped just under 1%, trading around $15.50 by the afternoon.
Sinclair has been eyeing Scripps for some time. Last week, the Maryland-based company said it held months of talks “regarding a potential combination” — and maintained more broadly that increasing its scale is “essential to address secular headwinds” in the U.S. media industry, pointing to growing competit