E.W. Scripps To Buy Eight Television Stations From Nexstar Media For $580 Mln

(RTTNews) - The E.W. Scripps Co. (SSP) is acquiring eight television stations in seven markets from the Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NXST) for $580 million as part of the planned divestiture of a total of nineteen stations in fifteen markets by Nexstar Media related to agreed merger deal between Nexstar and Tribune Media Co (TRCO) in December.

The transaction is expected to be financed through a mix of term loans and unsecured debt and will bring the company's total debt to $1.85 billion. Financing is being led by Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc. and Wells Fargo.

The Scripps acquisition of the Nexstar-Tribune stations is expected to close at the same time as the Nexstar-Tribune merger.

Methuselah Advisors and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as financial advisors and BakerHostetler acted as legal counsel for Scripps.

The acquisition grows the Scripps local television station footprint to 59 stations in 42 markets with a reach of nearly 30 percent of U.S. TV households. It also diversifies Scripps' network affiliations, adding two CBS stations, two Fox stations and four CWs.

The acquired stations' blended 2017-18 revenue was $263 million, and EBITDA was $56 million. The stations have a combined 769 employees.