The U.S. President opposed the $3.5-billion deal in November, saying that it would allow greater influence to left-leaning networks.
- Nexstar agreed to acquire Tegna for $3.54 billion in November; the deal is currently in regulatory review.
- For the deal to move forward, regulators would need to grant an exemption from the statutory cap on television ownership.
- The companies currently plan to close the transaction in the second half of 2026.
Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. rose over 0.5%, and Tegna, Inc. jumped nearly 5% in early premarket trading on Monday, after President Donald Trump publicly backed their merger that is currently in regulatory review.
"We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks," Trump wrote in a social media post on Saturday. "GET THAT DEAL DONE!
He said that “good deals” like the Nexstar-Tegna merger would “knock out Fake News because there will be more competition.” ”Those that are opposed don’t fully understand how good the concept of this Deal is for them, but they will in the future.”
Nexstar owns or partners with more than 200 stations, while Tegna runs 64 stations and networks. In November, Nexstar agreed to acquire Tegna for $3.54 billion in a deal that would create the largest U.S. regional TV station operator.
For the deal to go through, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must permit the deal to bypass a statutory limit that caps a single TV entity from having a reach beyond 39% of all U.S. TV households.
Trump’s comment comes as a reversal from his stand in November, when he said he was not in favour of the FCC relaxing the cap and that the Nexstar-Tegna deal would allow the left-leaning networks to gain greater influence. It was not immediately clear what made Trump change his view.
The U.S. President has been a vocal critic of TV networks he deems critical to him and the Republican party, chiefly ABC and NBC. He has routinely spoken against talk show anchors Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon and recently sued the UK’s BBC.
On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment was ‘bullish’ for Nexstar and ‘neutral’ for Tegna as of early Monday. Their shares are up 9% and down 2%, respectively, year to date.
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