Tegna Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) rose 6.8% in after hours trading on a report that Standard General and Apollo Global (NYSE:APO) are getting closer to a ~$9B purchase of the broadcaster.
The parties appeared to clear a big obstacle, which was a $500M break-fee, that Tegna appears to have given up its demands for, according to a NY Post report. The break fee was related to how long it would take for the FCC to clear the acquisition.
The latest report comes after the NY Post last month said that talks to sell the company to Standard General and Apollo Global had had hit a roadblock over the breakup fee.
There still appears to be $1-$2/share price gap between Tegna and the buyers so the deal still stands at about 50% probability, according to the latest NY Post report. Tegna likely needs to pay at least $24/share to get a deal across the finish line.
In late November, there was report that Standard General/Apollo raised their offer to $22.65/share above an earlier bid of $22.