FTC Has No Problem With Sinclair Purchase of Four Points

By
( )
published

The Federal Trade Commission has signaled it has no problem with Sinclair buying the Four Points Media stations.

The deal was on an "early termination" list the FTC circulates of pre-merger filings it has given the green light.

Any deal over $66 million -- Sinclair is paying $200 million to Four Points' owner Cerberus Capital -- must be submitted to FTC and Justice for antitrust review. They divvy up the reviews and, if there are problems with anticomptitive issues, file suit to block or settle on conditions and divestitures with the parties involved. The early termination means that, as far as FTC and Justice are concerned, the deal is good to go.

It must also get FCC approval for the license transfers.

Sinclair is one of the biggest deals in what has been a depressed market for station sales.

John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.