Sinclair Broadcast Group has announced a reorganization in which a new holding company, Sinclair, Inc. will become the publicly-traded parent of Sinclair Broadcast and its subsidiaries.
The Baltimore-based company, which was founded in 1986 and at 193 TV stations, is the second largest TV station group in the country, has greatly expanded beyond its traditional broadcast base to now include real estate, venture capital, private equity, and direct investments. Among its subsidiaries is ONE Media LLC, a technology division focused on business opportunities from the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard, as well as Compulse, a marketing technology and managed services company, and the Tennis Channel. As part of the reorganization, these other businesses and assets will be held by New Sinclair through a new subsidiary to be known as “Sinclair Ventures.”
“We believe the new structure will provide greater flexibility for creating value within the company. The new structure simplifies the corporate structure and improves the transparency of financial disclosures on the value drivers of the company,” commented Christopher S. Ripley, President and CEO of the company. “We believe these other assets, some of which are currently buried in the broadcast division, can receive greater visibility outside the ‘broadcast’ umbrella, while Sinclair Broadcast will become a broadcast-focused subsidiary for which stockholders can better value its true performance. In short, we believe a holding company structure can unlock unrecognized value and provide structural flexibility for the growth and monetization of our current and potential future media and non-media businesses.”
In the Reorganization, each outstanding share of Sinclair Broadcast’s Class A common stock and Class B common stock would be exchanged automatically on a one-for-one basis for a share of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, respectively, of New Sinclair. New Sinclair’s Class A common stock is expected to continue to trade on the Nasdaq Global Select stock market under the ticker symbol “SBGI” just as Sinclair Broadcast’s Class A common stock does today.
Under applicable law, the Reorganization will be accomplished through a share exchange and is subject to the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter at a special meeting of Sinclair Broadcast’s stockholders expected to be held in the second quarter of 2023.
