The shareholders of Tegna approve the sale of the issuer to Standard General, Apollo Global

Big TV broadcaster Tegna is the main force behind the long and sometimes controversial change of ownership and says its shareholders have approved the sale, led by investment firm Standard General.

The shareholders, who represent approximately 78% of the ordinary shares, voted to approve the transaction at today’s extraordinary meeting of the company, according to the preliminary results.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2022, subject to regulatory clearance and other normal closing conditions. Tegna will become a private company in the near future and its shares will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Tegna’s businesses include 64 TV stations in 51 US markets, making it the largest holder of the top 4 networks in the top 25 markets among the independent station groups. It also owns multiple broadcast networks such as True Crime Network, Twist and Quest, and the OTT Premion advertising service.

Tegna has been in the game for years, until last February it agreed to sell itself to Standard General and investors led by Apollo Global Management and its Cox Media Group.

This is an all cash transaction with a share of $ 24. It is worth $ 5.4 billion in equity or $ 8.6 billion including debt cancellation. Affected plaintiffs included Brion Allen, Gray Television, and several other physical education companies.

Eventually, Debbie McDermott, CEO of Standard Media, will take over as CEO, replacing Dave Luge. McDermott is currently the CEO of Standard Media. Previously, you were the CEO of Media and the CEO of Young Broadcasting.

Headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, Tegna was formed in 2015 when Gannett split its broadcast and publishing business into two companies.

Since then there has been an influx of mergers and acquisitions streams, including Nexstar’s acquisition of Tribune Media and Sinclair Broadcast’s purchase of Fox’s regional sports networks.