Tribune: We're on Track to Close Sinclair Deal

Peter Kern, Tribune Media's CEO said Aug 9 that Sinclair's $3.9 billion bid to buy Tribune's 42 TV stations remains "on track," while acknowledging the Department of Justice had issued a second request for information on the deal from both Sinclair and Tribune. Such requests for additional info are not uncommon. That came in Tribune's announcement of its second-quarter financial results.

Sinclair and Tribune have signaled that on track would be a close by the end for the fourth quarter. The DOJ request came on Aug. 2 and extends the Hart Scott Rodino waiting period for consummating a transaction by 30 days after the companies have "substantially complied" with the request, unless the deal submission gets early termination, meaning DOJ finds no reason to block or condition the deal. The FCC has received numerous petitions to deny the deal, or delay a decision until after the FCC completes a review of media ownership rules, which could affect that timetable. Sinclair and Tribune have until Aug. 22 to respond to those petitions and various comments that were critical but fell short of asking for outright denial.