Overview
- Sinclair revealed in an SEC filing that it bought about 6.28 million E.W. Scripps Class A shares for roughly $15.6 million and has held months of “constructive discussions” about a combination.
- Sinclair estimates more than $300 million in annual synergies and says a deal could close nine to 12 months after a definitive agreement, with no external financing required.
- Scripps said its board will evaluate any value-enhancing proposals and pledged to protect the company and its shareholders from opportunistic moves by Sinclair or others.
- Any merger would likely run into the FCC’s 39% national ownership cap, with FCC chair Brendan Carr signaling openness to loosening limits but action widely viewed as a 2026 prospect.
- Investors bid up Scripps shares by about 40% Monday on the disclosure, as the local-TV sector pursues scale following Nexstar’s pending $6.2 billion Tegna acquisition.