March 19 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Justice has unconditionally cleared Nexstar’s $3.5 billion deal to acquire rival Tegna, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The report comes a day after a group of eight states filed a suit in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, California, to block the merger that would make the combined entity the largest U.S. broadcast station group.
Streaming and satellite TV provider DirecTV also filed a separate suit, seeking to prevent the deal, late on Wednesday.
The Justice Department has granted the companies what is known as early termination, meaning it has closed its review of the deal, the Bloomberg report said.
Acquiring Tegna would expand Nexstar’s presence covering 80% of TV households across key geographies and would require the Federal Communications Commission to lift the cap on station ownership.
Nexstar, Tegna and the DOJ did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Last month, FCC Chair Brendan Carr said he supported the deal and would be moving forward to approve it after President Donald Trump publicly backed the merger.
The DOJ initiated an in-depth probe into the acquisition last year.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City. Editing by Alan Barona)
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