Nexstar closes $6.2B Tegna deal, announces $5.1B debt

Nexstar Media Group has yet closed its $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna, pursuing important ineligible and regulatory unit up to the time of the approval.

On March 19, Nexstar officially confirmed the closure of the deal, which it archetypal unveiled successful August 2025, a determination that makes it the largest section tv presumption proprietor successful the country.

The woody adds 64 stations crossed 51 markets, strengthening Nexstar’s scope successful cardinal advertizing regions. The combined institution present operates 265 tv stations successful 44 states and the District of Columbia, importantly expanding its beingness nationwide.

Within a time of the closure, Nexstar besides moved rapidly to fortify its equilibrium expanse by announcing a $5.1 cardinal indebtedness offering.

The institution said it plans to connection $3.39 cardinal successful caller elder secured notes owed 2033 and $1.725 cardinal successful elder notes owed 2034, according to a institution property release.

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The proceeds from the offering, on with currency connected hand, volition beryllium utilized to repay borrowings related to the Tegna woody and money purchases.

The determination signals Nexstar’s displacement from dealmaking to execution arsenic it integrates 1 of the largest section TV transactions successful years.

The combined institution tin scope 80% of the U.S. tv households, per Nexstar’s property release. Critics argued the merger efficaciously allows Nexstar to transcend the 39% nationalist ownership cap, a bounds acceptable nether national law.

Federal Communications Commissioner Anna M. Gomez was among the astir vocal critics of the decision.

Gomez said that strained section journalism, which is suffering from layoffs and “shrinking editorial voices,” volition beryllium further impacted, arsenic the “merger volition accelerate precisely that trend.”

Gomez besides cautioned that larger broadcast groups often centralize newsroom operations pursuing mergers, perchance reducing the fig of reporters covering section communities.

The merger adjacent prompted respective states and lawyers to artifact the merger connected antitrust grounds, claiming it would pb to accrued consolidation successful section TV markets and rise costs for distributors, yet affecting viewers and harming contention successful section news.

This includes Pay TV distributor DirecTV, which filed a national antitrust suit successful California, alleging that the merger violates antitrust laws and harms consumers.

Despite the uproar, the FCC has approved the deal, noting that it volition let Nexstar to ain little than 15% of tv stations, successful enactment with the FCC’s argumentation goals of competition, localism, and diversity.