DOJ Files Complaint and Divestiture Settlement Proposal on Nexstar/Tribune
DOJ will require Nexstar divest TV stations in 13 markets to approve the $6.4 billion deal to buy Tribune, said a department news release and complaint Wednesday evening. Nexstar had initially proposed to divest stations in 15 markets to bring…
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the deal in line with FCC ownership regulations. Many of the divestiture markets requested by Justice overlap with Nexstar’s original divestiture proposal (see 1903200058). “Without the required divestitures, Nexstar’s merger with Tribune threatens significant competitive harm to cable and satellite TV subscribers and small businesses,” said Antitrust Division Chief Makan Delrahim. The department and state attorneys general from Virginia, Pennsylvania and Illinois filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the deal, along with a settlement proposal. Delrahim's ”pleased” to have reached a solution through “good faith settlement talks.” Without the divestitures, the deal could have resulted in higher retransmission consent fees in the 13 markets, including Grand Rapids, Michigan; Richmond, Virginia; and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Nexstar didn't comment.