Nexstar, the No. 1 owner of TV stations in the U.S., is acquiring rival Tegna in a deal that challenges decade-old limits on control of local media.

U.S. television station owner Sinclair has made an offer to merge its broadcast TV business with smaller rival Tegna , which is in advanced talks on a potential sale to Nexstar Media Group , a person familiar with the talks told Reuters on Monday.

Nexstar beat out rival Sinclair, which was offering between $25 and $30 per share, significantly above Nexstar's winning bid.

Shares of broadcasting and digital media company TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) jumped 4.5% in the morning session after it announced a definitive agreement to be acquired by Nexstar Media Group (Nasdaq: NXST) in an all-cash deal.

Nexstar says its $6.2 billion takeover of Tegna is expected to close in the second half of 2026 — timing that would align with the lucrative wave of political ads during the midterm elections. But that plan still depends on Tegna shareholders, who may yet consider Sinclair’s competing offer.