Nexstar’s politically charged acquisition of a rival TV station owner, Tegna, has been halted by a federal judge in California.
Friday’s court action throws Nexstar’s takeover plans into doubt and signifies a major victory for the Democratic state attorneys general who sued to block the deal last month.
A leading satellite TV distributor, DirecTV, also filed suit, arguing that the Nexstar-Tegna merger would violate antitrust laws.
US District Judge Troy Nunley consolidated the cases and sided with the plaintiffs in a Friday evening ruling. He wrote that the merger is “presumed likely to violate antitrust laws.”
Nexstar responded by calling the