Nexstar Media Emerges As Leading Bidder For Tribune Media

Nexstar Media Group has emerged as the leading bidder for Tribune Media as it angles for a deal to create the nation’s biggest owner of local TV stations, The NYPost is reporting.

Sources said Irving, Texas-based Nexstar, which owns 171 stations nationwide and WGN 720 AM radio, looks poised to edge out rival Apollo Global Management, which recently teamed up for a bid with Michigan-based TV-station owner Northwest Broadcasting.

One person close to the talks said it appears Tribune is set to fetch more than $43 a share — the price that conservative-leaning TV giant Sinclair Broadcasting had offered for Tribune before its deal got scuttled by the Justice Department in August.

Shares of Tribune on Friday were recently trading at $40.15, up 26 cents, giving the company a market capitalization of $3.5 billion.

Sources cautioned that the talks were still fluid and that a deal could still fall apart.

In particular, Tribune’s board appears concerned that a merger with Nexstar — headed by Texas media tycoon Perry Sook — will require a lengthy review with antitrust regulators.

“Perry could probably pay a little more, but certainty of close is an issue, and Apollo can close a deal quicker,” according to one source close to the talks.

Chicago-based Tribune’s board of directors was slated to meet midday Friday to vet buyout offers it received on Wednesday, and a deal may not be announced until early next week, sources said.