Media General To Negotiate With Nexstar

Media General will “engage in negotiations” with Nexstar but its board unanimously rejected Nexstar's initial, unsolicited purchase proposal, a Media General news release said Monday. “The Board believes the Proposal significantly undervalues Media General and its prospects.” The proposal “substantially discounts Media General’s standalone growth prospects, ignores the significant asset value embedded in Media General’s excess spectrum that can be monetized via the upcoming Broadcast Auctions, and does not reflect an equitable share of the synergies" of a Nexstar/Media General deal, it said. Media General will hold private negotiations with Nexstar but “there are no guarantees that these negotiations will result in a transaction with Nexstar,” the release said. The Media General board continues to recommend the Meredith transaction, the release said.