Deal Timeline

Plotted by close date where disclosed, otherwise announcement. Select any marker to jump to the deal entry.

The Rationale That Repeats.

Three patterns show up across Nexstar Media's deal book — what the team buys, how it pays, and how it integrates. The patterns are the throughline; the deals below are the evidence.

01
Acquisition criteria
A disciplined consolidator of mid-sized-market TV stations.
From Newport in 2012 through CCA, Grant and the Gray/Excalibur stations in 2013-2014, Nexstar repeatedly bought station groups in complementary markets that it described as immediately accretive to free cash flow. CEO Perry Sook framed each deal against fixed criteria: accretion, revenue and geographic diversification, and the creation of duopolies or virtual duopolies with clear synergy paths.
Newport Television stations (12 stations plus Inergize Digital)Communications Corporation of America and White Knight BroadcastingGrant Company, Inc. (seven stations from the Estate of Milton Grant)Stations from Gray Television and Excalibur Broadcasting (Hoak Media and Parker Broadcasting subsidiaries)Internet Broadcasting Systems
02
Capital deployment
Serial scale-building punctuated by transformational mega-deals.
The tuck-ins built a platform that Nexstar then doubled and redoubled through the $4.6 billion Media General acquisition in 2016 (which produced the Nexstar Media Group name) and the $6.4 billion Tribune Media acquisition in 2019, which Nexstar called the transaction creating the nation's largest local television broadcaster reaching roughly 39% of U.S. television households.
Newport Television stations (12 stations plus Inergize Digital)Communications Corporation of America and White Knight BroadcastingGrant Company, Inc. (seven stations from the Estate of Milton Grant)Stations from Gray Television and Excalibur Broadcasting (Hoak Media and Parker Broadcasting subsidiaries)Internet Broadcasting Systems
03
Integration approach
Extending beyond station ownership into digital media and national content.
Nexstar bought Internet Broadcasting in 2014 to enter the digital publishing and digital-agency business, inherited WGN America and a TV Food Network stake through Tribune, and in 2022 acquired a 75% interest in The CW Network to diversify content outside of news and apply its financial discipline to a national broadcast platform.
Newport Television stations (12 stations plus Inergize Digital)Communications Corporation of America and White Knight BroadcastingGrant Company, Inc. (seven stations from the Estate of Milton Grant)Stations from Gray Television and Excalibur Broadcasting (Hoak Media and Parker Broadcasting subsidiaries)Internet Broadcasting Systems

The Full Deal Book

7 acquisitions. Each entry carries the deal value, financing structure, target revenue, executive commentary, and the original SEC filing — the evidence behind the patterns above.

01 Newport Television stations (12 stations plus Inergize Digital) $285.5M
Announced Jul 2012 Closed Jul 2012 all cash
ABCCWFOX and NBC affiliate stations in eight marketsdigital sub-channelsInergize Digital e-media management platform

Nexstar Broadcasting Group and affiliate Mission Broadcasting agreed to acquire twelve television stations and associated digital sub-channels in eight markets, plus Newport's Inergize Digital e-media operations, from entities controlled by privately held Newport Television, LLC. Nexstar acquired ten stations and the Inergize business while Mission acquired two Little Rock stations. Closings were staggered across late 2012 and 2013. Nexstar and Mission secured commitments for new $645 million Senior Secured Credit Facilities to fund the transaction, refinance existing facilities and repurchase subordinated notes.

02 Communications Corporation of America and White Knight Broadcasting $270.0M
Announced Apr 2013 Closed Jan 2015 all cash
NBCFOXCWMyNetworkTV and Estrella affiliate stations across Texas and Louisiana marketsplus associated digital sub-channels

Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. and Mission Broadcasting entered into a stock purchase agreement to acquire privately held Communications Corporation of America and White Knight Broadcasting, owners of nineteen television stations and seven associated digital sub-channels in ten markets, for total consideration of $270.0 million subject to working-capital adjustments. Nexstar acquired the CCA stock and Mission acquired the White Knight equity, with services agreements to Mission and other third parties. The acquisition closed January 2, 2015; simultaneous with closing Nexstar sold certain CCA stations to Marshall Broadcasting Group ($43.3 million) and Bayou City Broadcasting Evansville ($26.9 million) to satisfy ownership rules.

03 Grant Company, Inc. (seven stations from the Estate of Milton Grant) $87.5M
Announced Nov 2013 Closed Dec 2014 all cash
FOX and CW affiliate stations in Roanoke VAHuntsville ALQuad Cities IA and LaCrosse WI

Nexstar Broadcasting Group entered into a stock purchase agreement with Grant Company, Inc. to acquire seven television stations in four markets for $87.5 million. Simultaneously Nexstar agreed to sell one of the Grant stations (KLJB) to affiliate Mission Broadcasting and enter into local service agreements. The acquisition of the outstanding equity, purchased from the Estate of Milton Grant, closed December 1, 2014; Nexstar sold certain KLJB assets to Marshall Broadcasting Group for $15.3 million at closing.

04 Stations from Gray Television and Excalibur Broadcasting (Hoak Media and Parker Broadcasting subsidiaries) $37.5M
Announced Dec 2013 Closed Dec 2013 all cash
ABCFOXCBS and MyNetworkTV affiliate stations in Panama City FL and Grand Junction CO markets

Nexstar Broadcasting Group and affiliate Mission Broadcasting entered into definitive agreements to acquire six television stations in two markets for $37.5 million. The stations, representing equity interests of certain subsidiaries of Hoak Media and Parker Broadcasting, were being acquired from Gray Television Group and Excalibur Broadcasting. Nexstar acquired five stations from Gray (funding $33.5 million) and Mission acquired one station from Excalibur (funding $4 million).

05 Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. $20.0M
Announced Mar 2014 Closed Apr 2014 all cash
Digital publishing SaaS platformwebsite developmentoriginal and syndicated contentfull life-cycle digital advertising agency services

Nexstar Broadcasting Group agreed to acquire the assets of Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc., a digital publishing platform and digital-agency services provider, for $20.0 million (less roughly $1.2 million of working-capital adjustments). Internet Broadcasting served leading media companies including Hearst Television and Post-Newsweek Stations with websites, a SaaS-based digital publishing platform, content and one of the largest digital advertising agencies. The acquisition closed April 2, 2014 and marked Nexstar's entry into the digital-agency business.

06 Media General, Inc. $4.6B
Announced Jan 2016 Closed Jan 2017 combination
Broadcast television stations across new top-50 DMAsdigital media operationsspectrum assets

Nexstar Broadcasting Group entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of Media General, Inc. for $10.55 per share in cash plus 0.1249 of a share of Nexstar Class A stock per Media General share, with a contingent value right tied to proceeds from Media General's spectrum in the FCC Incentive Auction. The deal, which valued Media General at $17.14 per share (about a 54% premium), followed the termination of a proposed Meredith Corporation-Media General merger. Nexstar renamed itself Nexstar Media Group upon completion. The transaction closed January 17, 2017; Nexstar completed related divestitures of 13 stations for $548 million at closing. approximately $4.6 billion.

07 Tribune Media Company $6.4B
Announced Dec 2018 Closed Sep 2019 all cash
42 broadcast television stations in major U.S. marketsWGN America national cable network31% stake in TV Food Networkequity investments in digital media businesses

Nexstar Media Group entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of Tribune Media Company for $46.50 per share in cash, in a transaction valued at approximately $6.4 billion including the assumption of Tribune Media's outstanding debt (a 15.5% premium to Tribune's November 30, 2018 close). The deal followed the collapse of Tribune's prior proposed transaction with a third party. Nexstar completed the acquisition September 19, 2019 in a transaction it valued at approximately $7.2 billion including assumed debt, at a final $46.687397 per share, simultaneously completing divestitures of 21 television stations for approximately $1.33 billion. Tribune brought 42 stations, WGN America, a 31% stake in TV Food Network and digital media investments. approximately $6.4 billion including assumed debt ($46.50 per share in cash).

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