Financial Markets Finish A Rocky Week With Big TEGNA Talk

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U.S. financial markets finished the week on a positive note, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.2% on Friday, and the Nasdaq rose by 1.7%. For media companies, activity was mixed, with Cumulus Media rising by a dime and iHeartMedia slipping by 1%.


At the Closing Bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 306.62, to 25,886.01.

Nasdaq was up 129.38 points, to 7,895.99.

Among the climbers was Beasley Media Group, seeing a 10-cent improvement to $3.25.

Cumulus saw a 10-cent gain, to $15.21, while iHeartMedia shares slipped 14 cents, to $13.25.

Meanwhile, TEGNA shares surged $1.48, to $15.09, 10 minutes before market close. It’s up 4.2% in early after-hours trading. Why? The Wall Street Journal reports Apollo Global Management — the entity that did a private buyout of Cox Media Group and Brian Brady’s Northwest Broadcasting — also wants the company formerly known as Gannett and approached them about a possible sale.

This happened at the start of 2019, the Journal reports. “It sent a formal letter to the board in February, offering to buy the company at a premium, and it has remained in regular contact despite so far being rebuffed,” people close to the matter told the newspaper. Apollo would also consider other options, such as merging its stations into Tegna or selling them to the company.

Apollo is looking to increase its ownership of television stations, and would consider merging its stations into TEGNA or an outright sale to the company.