Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. has announced its intention to purchase Fisher Communications for the price of US $373 million in order to expand its operations in the United States. With the offered price, the Seattle-based firm share value is pegged at US $41 per share, which is an additional premium of 5% over closing stock price last Wednesday.
By Thursday, the stock price for Fisher Communications is pegged US $41.09 and has been trading 44% above the date when billionaire Mario Gabelli was putting pressure on the board to offer itself for sale in a meeting last January 9.
According to Gabelli, "This is a major opportunity for Sinclair to move into top-25 markets." The billionaire investor owns a 26.75% share in fisher, which according to Reuters makes him the company's largest.
Sinclair for its part said that it is expecting to finance the acquisition with cash as well as debt. Another option is to raise funds from capital markets. At completion of the deal, Sinclair would be able to reach a third of households in the US who own a television.
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