Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. announced Tuesday it has agreed to buy Titan Television Broadcast Group, owner of four television stations in three markets, for $115.35 million.
As part of the deal, Hunt Valley-based Sinclair will take over Titan's agreements to provide sales and other services to two additional stations.
The Titan portfolio includes three Fox affiliates, in the Fresno/Visalia, Calif., market, in Omaha, Neb., and in Sioux City, Iowa; a CBS affiliate in Sioux City and two CW affiliates, in Fresno and in Omaha.
The Titan stations "will complement the California properties we are acquiring from Fisher [Communications], as well as add to our Iowa presence and give us our first stations in Nebraska," Sinclair CEO David Smith said a statement.
Sinclair has been on a buying binge, announcing acquisition deals recently with Barrington Broadcasting, Fisher Communications and Cox Media Group. Sinclair's purchase of four Cox stations for $99 million in cash closed in May.
Including the Titan stations, Sinclair will own, operate or provide programming or sales services to 140 television stations in 72 markets and reach nearly 35 percent of U.S. households with televisions.
The broadcaster said it expects to pay for the Titan purchase when the deal closes, less an $11.5 million escrow deposit, with cash or a loan through the company's bank credit facility.
The acquisition requires Federal Communications Commission approval and would close by the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter, Sinclair said.