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New York • Sinclair Broadcast Group, one of the nation's largest local TV station operators, wants to get even bigger.
The company announced Monday it will pay about $3.9 billion for Tribune Media, adding more than 40 stations including KTLA in Los Angeles, WPIX in New York and WGN in Chicago.
Tribune also has stakes in the Food Network and job-search website CareerBuilder.
Sinclair already has 173 stations around the country, including KENV in Salt Lake City, KOMO in Seattle and WKRC in Cincinnati.
The Tribune deal, plus other pending acquisitions, will give Sinclair a total of 233 TV stations. But the Hunt Valley, Maryland-based company said it may sell some stations to comply with Federal Communications Commission rules.
Sinclair said it will pay about $43.50 in cash and stock for each share of Tribune, an 8 percent premium from Tribune's closing price of $40.29 on Friday.
Shares of Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. rose 95 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $37.90 in morning trading Monday. Tribune Media Co. shares rose $2.56, or 6.4 percent, to $42.85.