Tegna shareholders approve $5.4B sale to hedge fund

Tysons-based broadcast and digital media giant Tegna Inc.’s shareholders approved an agreement at a special meeting Tuesday for the sale of the company to an affiliate of New York hedge fund Standard General.

On Feb. 22, Tegna announced it would be acquired in a $5.4 billion cash deal by an affiliate of Standard General LP.

Standard General, one of Tegna’s largest shareholders, and New York-based private equity firm Apollo Global Management agreed to buy Tegna for $24 per share in cash.

Holders of 78% of Tegna’s common shares voted to adopt the agreement, according to a news release. The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year. Upon closing, Tegna will become a private company and will no longer be traded on the New York Stock Exchange, and CEO Dave Lougee will be replaced by Deb McDermott, the current CEO of Standard Media and former chief operating officer of Media General. Soo Kim, founding partner of Standard General, will serve as board chairman.

Tegna owns 64 television stations in 51 U.S. markets and reaches 39% of all television households nationwide. It was created in 2015 as a publicly-traded company after McLean-based Gannett Co. Inc., the nation’s largest newspaper publisher, spun off its broadcast and digital media divisions.