SNL Kagan has revealed that broadcast television station M&A deals in the third quarter of 2015 are worth $2.6 billion — up from the last three quarters but down from 2014 levels.
The total M&A volume, counting radio as well, for Q3 is $3.04 billion, more than twice the combined amount from the last three quarters. Through the end of September, TV deal announcements of the previous 12 months totaled $2.75 billion.
There were seven consecutive quarters between Q1 2013 and Q3 2014 with deals volumes over $1 billion, according to SNL Kagan, but activity slowed considerably beginning in Q4 of last year. There was not a single deal north of $100 million between October 2014 and August 2015; however, in this quarter, there were five such transactions announced.
The largest deal announcement of the quarter was Media General’s multi billion dollar acquisition of Meredith. SNL Kagan ranks the deal as the TV industry’s biggest since Media General bought LIN Media for $1.6 million in March 2014. Nexstar’s subsequent unsolicited proposed acquisition of Media General for $4.1 billion was not included in SNL Kagan’s numbers.
Other major deal announcement this quarter included Gray TV’s $442.5 million purchase of Schurz Communications and a station in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Raycom Media’s $160 million acquisition of Drewry Communications Group's seven TV stations.
