RICHMOND, VA. and DES MOINES, IOWA—Media General, Inc., and Meredith Corporation have announced a merger to create a new multiplatform and diversified media company called Meredith Media General. Media General acquired all of the outstanding common stock of Meredith in a deal valued at $2.4 billion.
Stephen M. Lacy will serve as Meredith Media General’s CEO and president. Joseph H. Ceryanec will serve as the company’s chief financial officer. The remainder of Meredith Media General’s senior management team will be a combination of the two company’s existing executive teams. While Meredith Media General will be incorporated in Virginia, it will maintain offices in both Richmond, Va. and Des Moines, Iowa.
Meredith Media General’s Board of Directors will be led by J. Stewart Bryan III in the position of chairman of Meredith Media General. The rest of the board will be made up of 12 directors, eight appointed by Media General and four appointed by Meredith.
With the merger, Meredith Media General owns 88 TV stations across 54 markets that reach 34 million households. Stations in six markets— Portland, Ore.; Nashville, Tenn.; Hartford-New Haven, Conn.; Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C./Asheville, N.C.; Mobile, Ala./Pensacola, Fla.; and Springfield, Mass.—will be swapped or divested in order to address regulatory considerations.
The merger has been approved by the Board of Directors for both Media General and Meredith. The companies now await the approval from shareholders as well as customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to officially close by June 30, 2016.
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