Covington & Burling is serving as communications counsel to Tribune Company in its agreement to acquire Local TV Holdings, LLC, for $2.725 billion in cash. The acquisition includes all of Local TV’s 19 television stations in 16 key markets.
Under the deal, Tribune will become the country’s largest commercial TV station owner, with a total of 42 stations from New York to Los Angeles and Miami to Seattle. Local TV is principally owned by Oak Hill Capital Partners. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2013.
Tribune is one of the country’s leading multimedia companies, operating businesses in publishing, digital and broadcasting. In publishing, Tribune’s leading daily newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, Sun Sentinel (South Florida), Orlando Sentinel, Hartford Courant, The Morning Call and Daily Press. The company’s broadcasting group operates 23 television stations, WGN America on national cable, the national multicast network Antenna TV and Chicago’s WGN-AM. Popular news and information websites complement Tribune’s print and broadcast properties and extend the company’s nationwide audience.
The team was led by partners Mace Rosenstein and Matt DelNero, special counsel Eve Pogoriler and associate Kara Azocar.
