On December 17, Sinclair Broadcast Group shares closed at $25.89 as chatter of the company’s future following its failed merger with Tribune Media persisted. Now, it has a group of regional sports networks locked up. ACA Connects may be bitter, but investors are excited — sending SBGI up 35% on Monday.
In early after-hours trading on Wall Street, the growth continued.
As of 4:38pm Eastern, Sinclair was priced at $60.70, following a remarkable $15.33 rise to $60.48 in Monday’s trading session.
Volume was high at 15.5 million shares traded; average trading for SBGI is 977,467.
Fueling the meteoric rise is the FOX deal, which will bring RSNs into Sinclair’s fold. “We will become the leading local sports and news company in the country,” declared CEO Chris Ripley.
Investors seem to agree as Ripley called the team transformation, and one that will “forever change the complexion” of Sinclair.
Sinclair is purchasing 21 RSNs from Disney, as a result of its merger with FOX, for $9.6 billion in an effort that sees Byron Allen take on a minority equity interest.
Further giving SBGI a boost are comments suggesting Sinclair could soon be making deals with Amazon and others seeking live sports streaming rights.
