US television broadcasting companies Gray Television and Raycom Media are set to merge under a $3.647bn (€3.09bn) deal that will tie together a host of local broadcast stations.
Atlanta-based Gray will acquire Raycom in a move that it claims will create the single largest owner of top-rated local television stations and digital assets in the country.
Under the terms of the deal, Gray will acquire Raycom for $3.647bn in total proceeds, consisting of $3.547bn in enterprise value and $100m of Raycom cash.
The combined entity will result in 142 full-power television stations serving 92 markets; the third largest portfolio of stations and markets in the US. Gray is acquiring stations in markets as small as Ottumwa, Iowa; and as significant as Cleveland, Ohio, where it will own the CBS affiliate that televises NFL American football games, the NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament and The Masters golf tournament.
In addition, Gray will acquire several additional Raycom businesses that will result in a more diversified media company. These businesses include Raycom Sports, a marketing, production and events management and distribution company, and Tupelo Raycom, a sports and entertainment production company.
“Today we announce the transformation of Gray Television into a true leader in the broadcast television industry,” Hilton H. Howell, Jr., Gray’s chairman, president and chief executive, said.
“Combining our company with the excellent Raycom stations and the superb Raycom employees will create a powerhouse local media operation. Together, this new portfolio of leading local media outlets will excel at what they do best, which is to provide the local news that local communities trust, the entertainment and sports content that viewers crave, and the incredible reach that advertisers demand.”