Media General Inc said it would buy diversified media company Meredith Corp for about $2.34 billion to create the third-largest local TV station owner in the United States. The deal marks Media General's return to the print business, after it sold most of its newspapers to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc for $142 million in 2012.
The combined company, to be named Meredith Media General, will initially have 88 TV stations that reach 30 percent of US TV households, the companies said on September 08.
Meredith has 17 TV stations including affiliates of CBS Corp, Twenty-First Century Fox Inc and Comcast Corp's NBC.
Media General did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its plans for Meredith's magazine business, which includes Martha Stewart Living, Family Circle and Better Homes and Gardens.
Meredith, which is more than 110 years old, also operates websites including Allrecipes.com.
Media General operates and services about 71 TV stations. The companies said they would divest or swap TV stations in six markets to get regulatory approval for the deal.
The acquisition is Media General's second major deal in less than a year. The Richmond, Virginia-based company bought LIN Media for $1.6 billion in December.
Meredith Media General will be an "aggressive industry consolidator", Meredith Chief Executive Stephen Lacy, who will head the combined company, said.
Meredith shareholders will receive $34.57 in cash and 1.5214 shares of the new company for each share held, while Media General shareholders will receive one share of the combined company for each share held.
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