Gannett deal approved, but KMOV sale required

The Justice Department has agreed to give the thumbs up to a $2.2 billion acquisition of Dallas-based Belo Corp., provided buyer Gannett Co. sells the CBS affiliate in St. Louis, KMOV, to an independent third party.

McLean, Va.-based media giant Gannett already owns KSDK, the NBC affiliate in St. Louis. Together, KMOV and KSDK are the two top rated news stations in the St. Louis market.

The sale, which still requires Federal Communications Commission approval, would make Gannett the fourth largest owner of major network affiliates in the country, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The Belo buyout would nearly double Gannett’s television holdings. Belo owns 19 stations, plus KMOV, and Gannett owns 23, including KSDK.

The proposed sale is for $1.5 billion in cash, plus the assumption of $715 million in debt.

Read more from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.