Gray Television to acquire Meredith Corporation for $2.7 billion.

Atlanta-based company’s purchase of Quincy Media for $925 million is currently pending before the Federal Communications Commission; Once all transactions are complete, Gray will own the second most television stations in the country behind Sinclair, owners of KHQA-TV.

News Release:

Gray Television, Inc. (“Gray”) (NYSE: GTN) has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Meredith Corporation (“Meredith”) for approximately $14.50 per share in cash, or $2.7 billion in total enterprise value after the spin off of Meredith’s National Media Group to the current Meredith shareholders. The parties expect to close the transaction in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Immediately prior to closing this acquisition, Meredith will spin off to its existing shareholders its National Media Group operating division, which owns the nation’s largest portfolio of magazines as well as digital and marketing assets. At the closing, Gray will acquire Meredith’s other operating division, known as the Local Media Group, which owns the following 17 television stations in 12 local markets:

WGCL (CBS) / WPCH (Independent), Atlanta, Georgia (DMA 7) KPHO (CBS) / KTVK (Independent), Phoenix, Arizona (DMA 11) KPTV (FOX) / KPDX (MyNetwork), Portland, Oregon (DMA 21) KMOV (CBS), St. Louis, Missouri (DMA 23)

WSMV (NBC), Nashville, Tennessee (DMA 29)
WFSB (CBS), Hartford-New Haven, Connecticut (DMA 32)
KCTV (CBS) / KSMO (MyNetwork), Kansas City, Missouri, (DMA 34)
WHNS (FOX), Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina (DMA 35)
KVVU (FOX), Las Vegas, Nevada (DMA 40)
WALA (FOX), Mobile, Alabama (DMA 57)
WNEM (CBS), Flint-Saginaw, Michigan (DMA 73)
WGGB (ABC & FOX) / WSHM-LD (CBS), Springfield, Massachusetts (DMA 116)

Last week, in order to satisfy FCC regulations, Gray spun off some of the stations it was in the process of buying from Quincy Media.

Gray reached an agreement to divest certain television stations currently owned by Quincy Media, Inc. (“Quincy”) to Byron Allen’s Allen Media Broadcasting, LLC (“Allen Media”) for $380 million dollars in cash. Allen Media, which owns and operates local television stations in twelve markets, also owns 12 networks including The Weather Channel and the free-streaming service Local Now. Allen Media Group was founded by Byron Allen in 1993.

Earlier this year, Gray reached an agreement to acquire Quincy for $925 million in cash. To facilitate regulatory approvals for this transaction, Gray agreed to sell to Allen Media the following television stations currently owned by Quincy, each of which operates in a market in which Gray also owns and operates a television station:

KVOA (NBC), Tucson, Arizona (Nielsen DMA Rank 64)
WKOW (ABC), Madison, Wisconsin (DMA 81)
WSIL / KPOB (ABC), Paducah, Kentucky- Harrisburg, Illinois (DMA 84)

KWWL (NBC), Cedar Rapids, Iowa (DMA 92)
WXOW / WQOW (ABC), La Crosse-Eau Claire, Wisconsin (DMA 129)

WAOW / WMOW (ABC), Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin (DMA 136)

WREX (NBC), Rockford, Illinois (DMA 139)

Gray’s acquisition of Quincy and Gray’s sale of the foregoing Quincy stations to Allen Media will close simultaneously. As such, at no time will Gray own, control or operate any of the divestiture television stations. Gray expects to close these transactions following receipt of regulatory and other approvals in the third quarter of 2021.