In an effort to boost its liquidity and better position itself for long-term growth, Sinclair Television Group and certain affiliates have entered into a “transaction support” agreement with some of its creditors for new financing and debt recapitalization to strengthen its balance sheet.
The deal, which will establish an up to $650 million revolving credit facility, covers lenders holding approximately 80% of the principal amount of STG’s outstanding loans under its existing credit facilities and approximately 75% of the amount held by holders of its secured notes. The proposed transactions are still being finalized and “conditioned on the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions,” as well as the consent from lenders, Sinclair said on Tuesday.
“The transactions, as contemplated in the TSA, demonstrate the strong support of our creditors in positioning the company for long-term success by enhancing its financial liquidity and flexibility,” Sinclair president and CEO Chris Ripley said in a statement. “The refinancings are expected to push our closest meaningful maturity to December 2029 and extend all of our maturities to a weighted average of 6.6 years, while materially reducing our first lien net leverage and improving our financial optionality, allowing us to continue to be opportunistic in the marketplace to deleverage over time while driving enhanced returns for all of the company’s stakeholders.”
Sinclair’s move came as regulators under the Trump administration are widely expected to be more supportive of mergers and acquisitions than those under the Biden administration.
“We’re very excited about the upcoming regulatory environment,” Ripley previously said during Sinclair’s third quarter earnings call after Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory. “It does feel like a cloud over the industry is lifting here, and we do think some much needed modernization of the regulations will be forthcoming.”
Sinclair owns, operates or provides services to 185 television stations in 86 markets affiliated with all the major broadcast networks. It also owns Tennis Channel and multicast networks Comet, CHARGE!, TBD. and The Nest.
