Nexstar says it will appeal following US judge ruling halting Tegna merger

By David Thomas and Mike Scarcella

April 17 (Reuters) - Nexstar NXST.O said on Friday it will appeal a federal judge's ruling halting its acquisition of rival broadcast station Tegna, after the judge issued a preliminary injunction as antitrust challenges from DirecTV and a group of states proceed.

Chief U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley in Sacramento said the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claims that the $3.54 billion deal will substantially lessen competition in dozens of local television markets.

The court’s order bars Nexstar from consolidating its operations with Tegna, but does not unwind the transaction. The deal quickly closed after the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission approved it on March ​19, which Nexstar noted in its statement announcing its appeal.

"We will appeal today’s decision and look forward to presenting our case on its merits before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals," Nexstar said.

DirecTV, which filed a federal antitrust lawsuit opposing the merger, commended Nunley's ruling in a statement, saying that "unchecked station consolidation will force consumers to pay more for less."

The merger was also opposed by eight states, including California and New York. In a statement Friday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Nunley's ruling was a "critical win in our case."

"The federal government may have thrown in the towel, but we’ll keep fighting for consumers, for workers, for affordability, and for our local news," Bonta said.

Nunley's order does not go into effect until Tuesday, as the companies had asked for time so they could consider whether to file an appeal.

The deal creates the largest broadcast station group in the U.S., reaching 80% of U.S. households. The states have argued that the deal would result in lost jobs, increased cable bills and "significantly impact the delivery of news and other media content to Americans nationwide."

Nexstar, in its statement on Friday, said its deal with Tegna will strengthen local stations and "and support continued investment in local journalism and fact-based news."