MDP - Meredith rises 13% with $2.7B deal to sell local stations to Gray

Gray Television (GTN +0.8%) has a deal to acquire Meredith's (MDP +12.6%) Local Media Group in a a $2.7B cash transaction. Gray will acquire all outstanding shares of Meredith for about $14.50/share in cash, which is $2.7B in enterprise value after the spin-off of Meredith's National Media Group to current Meredith shareholders. That National group owns the nation's biggest portfolio of magazines, as well as related digital and marketing assets. The Local Media Group going to Gray Television owns 17 TV stations across 12 local markets - only one of which (Flint-Saginaw, Mich.) Gray currently operates in. The move will make Gray the nation's second-largest TV broadcaster, with a combined net revenue exceeding $3.1B on a blended two-year basis. The company will serve 113 local markets reaching about 36% of U.S. TV households. Gray says the deal will be "significantly accretive" to free cash flow per share, and has identified

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Meredith rises 13% with $2.7B deal to sell local stations to Gray