Based on historical trends and recent results, Perry Sook expects Nexstar Broadcasting to succeed in acquiring Media General. Sook, the chairman, president and CEO of Nexstar, told analysts that during Nexstar’s earnings call Tuesday morning.
He said Nexstar is continuing to exchange information and have conversations with Media General, adding that all of the many large Media General shareholders that Nexstar has talked to have been supportive of its proposal.
“(We) are working aggressively to move forward with what we believe would be the largest and most transformational transaction in the company’s history,” Sook said. “Past history and recent results, both ours and those of other involved parties, indicate that we should prevail in our efforts to acquire Media General and we’re appreciative of all the Media General shareholders and our shareholders who have all expressed their support for what is undoubtedly the preferred home for the Media General assets.”
As a refresher, Nexstar made an unsolicited $4.1 billion bid to acquire Media General in September. Since then, support seems have shifted away from Media General’s previously proposed merger with Meredith toward Nexstar’s. After shareholders came out in favor of the Nexstar bid and Media General retained additional financial and legal advisors to assist its board of directors in examining it, Media General on Oct. 14 revealed that it had reached an agreement with Meredith permitting the mutual exchange of specific non-public information with Nexstar.
For Media General to enter into negotiations with Nexstar besides the exchange of information, “they would need to declare our offer superior,” Sook said, “or deem our offer to be reasonably likely to be superior before we can enter into anything you might think of as a negotiation.”
