Major Broadcasting Group Plans To Sell Over 60 Stations

One of the largest owners of broadcast stations is looking to sell 30% of its media companies.

Sinclair Broadcast Group announced it is looking to sell over 60 stations in various regions in the United States.

The stations that Sinclair is looking to sell are affiliates of NBC, Fox, ABC, CBS, and the CW.

Regarding the big move, the CEO of Sinclair, Chris Ripley, stated, “As we’ve always stated, we have no sacred cows.”

“We want to unlock the sum of the parts valuation that we think we’re grossly undervalued for,” added Ripley.

Sinclair is looking to sell as many as 60 local TV stations in underperforming markets across the country https://t.co/8cBrK3yiP4 $SBGI

— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) May 9, 2024

$SBGI is currently exploring the sale of about 30% of its broadcast stations according to CNBC

– Sinclair is one of the largest owners of broadcast stations in the U.S., hiring Moelis for divestiture
– They have identified >60 stations across the US to sell with a combined… pic.twitter.com/cBIyWVItNa

— Special Situations 🌐 Research Newsletter (Jay) (@SpecialSitsNews) May 9, 2024

Here’s what NBC News reported:

Sinclair, one of the largest owners of broadcast stations in the U.S., is looking to sell more than 30% of its footprint, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company has hired Moelis as its investment banker and has identified more than 60 stations in various regions of the U.S. that it would be willing to sell, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. Sinclair owns or operates 185 TV stations in 86 markets.

The stations are a mix of affiliates including Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS and the CW. If sold together, their average revenue for 2023 and 2024 is an estimated $1.56 billion, the people said. Sinclair is willing to sell all or some of the stations, which are in top markets like Minneapolis; Portland, Ore.; Pittsburgh; Austin, Texas and Fresno, Calif., among others.

Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley said Wednesday that the company is open to offloading parts of its business, without providing specifics.

“As we’ve always stated, we have no sacred cows,” Ripley said during his company’s earnings conference call. “We want to unlock the sum of the parts valuation that we think we’re grossly undervalued for. And to the extent that asset sales makes sense in order to unlock that value and help us de-lever, then that’s something that we’d be open to as well.”

Breaking: Sinclair Broadcast Group might be selling as much as 30% of its stations: Report https://t.co/H06C9lBm48

— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) May 9, 2024

Per Just The News:

Sinclair Broadcast Group, the second largest owner and operator of U.S. broadcast stations, is considering selling more than 30% of its stations, according to NBC News sources.

The company reportedly hired Moelis as its “investment banker and has identified more than 60 stations in various regions of the U.S. that it would be willing to sell, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private,” the report said.

Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley said released a statement about the company’s interest in selling some of its stations but didn’t elaborate.

“As we’ve always stated, we have no sacred cows,” Ripley said on an earnings conference call. “We want to unlock the sum of the parts valuation that we think we’re grossly undervalued for. And to the extent that asset sales makes sense in order to unlock that value and help us de-lever, then that’s something that we’d be open to as well.”