ATLANTA (AP) — Gray Television Inc. and Raycom Media Inc. are announcing a merger that would create the third-largest television broadcast group in the United States.
Georgia-based Gray and Alabama-based Raycom said Monday they’ve entered into an agreement to combine the companies in a $3.6 billion deal.
In a statement, the companies say the combined firm will have more than 140 television stations serving 92 markets. The communities range from large TV markets such as Cleveland and Tampa-Sarasota, Florida to small markets like Ottumwa, Iowa, and Presque Isle, Maine.
The companies said Raycom subsidiary Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., which owns newspapers in nearly two dozen states, is not part of the deal as it will be sold or spun off. Raycom and CNHI are financed by the Retirement Systems of Alabama, which manages state employee pension funds.