Washington, DC – July 11, 2018 – Cooley is advising Gray Television on its agreement to combine with Raycom Media for $3.65 billion in total proceeds. Partner Kevin Mills and lawyers Maureen Nagle and John Feore are leading the Cooley team advising Gray. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year.
For Gray, a longstanding Cooley client that trades on the NYSE as “GTN,” the acquisition marks its transformation from a small, regional broadcaster into a leading media company with nationwide scale based on high-quality stations with exceptional talent in attractive markets. Combining Gray and Raycom will create the single largest owner of top-rated local television stations and digital assets in the country.
“Combining our company with the excellent Raycom stations and the superb Raycom employees will create a powerhouse local media operation,” said Hilton H. Howell, Jr., Gray's president and CEO, in a news release. “Together, this new portfolio of leading local media outlets will excel at what they do best, which is to provide the local news that local communities trust, the entertainment and sports content that viewers crave, and the incredible reach that advertisers demand.”
Gray owns and/or operates more than 100 television stations across 57 television markets that collectively broadcast more than 200 program streams, including more than 100 channels affiliated with CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX.
Cooley is the leading law firm for the broadcasting industry. The firm has advised broadcasting clients on more television station acquisitions than any other law firm over the last five years. The firm represents approximately 300 television stations and more than 125 radio stations as well as the CBS and Fox affiliate associations.
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