Nexstar to acquire Tegna in a $6.2B all-cash deal

Nexstar Media Group unveiled a plan to acquire Tegna Inc. in a cash transaction valued at 6.2 billion, including debt and expected fees. The all-cash deal would see Nexstar pay 22.00 per Tegna share, a 31 percent premium to Tegna’s 30-day average stock price as of early August. The companies said the merger is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to Tegna shareholders’ approval and regulatory clearance. Financing will combine new debt, cash on hand, funds generated between signing and closing, and revolver capacity, with Tegna’s debt to be refinanced or assumed at closing. If completed, Nexstar and its partners would own 265 television stations across 44 states and the District of Columbia, reaching about 80 percent of U.S. television households.

The expanded footprint would place Nexstar in nine of the top ten television markets and in 41 of the top 50 DMAs, expanding the company’s reach in core markets such as Atlanta, Phoenix, Seattle and Minneapolis. The combined group would have more scale in political advertising windows, a factor increasingly important in election years, and would broaden Nexstar’s ability to offer advertisers a wide mix of local...