Tribune drops Sinclair and sues
August 9, 2018
Tribune Media has scrapped its $3.9bn bid to merge with Sinclair and sued the company for breach of contract. The move scuttles a deal that would have created a TV giant owning stations that reached 70% of American homes.
The deal ran into regulatory trouble with the Federal Communications Commission – and Tribune charged that Sinclair had failed to live up to its end of the deal in getting the arrangement approved.
“Our merger cannot be completed within an acceptable timeframe, if ever,” Tribune CEO Peter Kern said in a statement Thursday morning. “This uncertainty and delay would be detrimental to our company and our shareholders. Accordingly, we have exercised our right to terminate the merger agreement, and, by way of our lawsuit, intend to hold Sinclair accountable.”