Sinclair Broadcast Group said it plans a reorganization that would create a new publicly traded holding company for its broadcast and other assets.
The new holding company will wlil be called Sinclair Inc. It will have two divisions: Sinclair Broadcast Group and Sinclair Ventures.
Sinclair Broadcast Group will include Sinclair Television Group and Diamond Sports Group, the division that owns the Bally Sports regional networks and that filed for bankruptcy protection last month. Sinclair Ventures will have the company’s private equity and real-estate assets, The Tennis Channel and the Compulse ad tech unit.
“We believe the new structure will provide greater flexibility for creating value within the company,” CEO Chris Ripley said. “The new structure simplifies the corporate structure and improves the transparency of financial disclosures on the value drivers of the company.
“We believe these other assets, some of which are currently buried in the broadcast division, can receive greater visibility outside the ‘broadcast’ umbrella, while Sinclair Broadcast will become a broadcast-focused subsidiary for which stockholders can better value its true performance,“ he continued. “In short, we believe a holding company structure can unlock unrecognized value and provide structural flexibility for the growth and monetization of our current and potential future media and non-media businesses.”
The company said the reorganization is not expected to result in changes in the company's directors, executive officers or management.
Under the plan, Sinclair Broadcast Group class A common stock and class B common stock would be exchanged automatically on a one-for-one basis with a share of class A and class B stock, respectively, of the new company.
Shares of the new company are expected to continue to trade on the Nasdaq Global Select stock market with the symbol SBGI. ■
