Sinclair Shareholders Have Lost More than Half a Billion Dollars in Stock Value Since the Tribune Merger Was Announced
Sinclair’s Value by The Numbers
WHAT THEY OWN
- As of July 17, 2018, there were 76,561,000 issued shares of Sinclair Broadcast Group. [Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. Stock Report, Nasdaq, accessed 07/17/18]
- As of March 9, 2017, David D. Smith owned 10,921,496 shares of Sinclair Broadcast Group Class A stock. Frederick G. Smith owned 4,059,831 shares, J. Duncan Smith owned 7,105,794 shares, and Robert E. Smith owned 6,487,451. Since then, the Class A stock ownership of the brothers has remained largely consistent with the exception of a few small trades. [SCHEDULE 13D, Sinclair Broadcast Group, 03/09/17]
WHAT IT WAS WORTH ON THE DAY THE MERGER WAS ANNOUNCED
- On May 8, 2017, the day Sinclair announced their intended merger with Tribune Media Company, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Class A stock had an adjusted close price of $35.11 per share. [Cynthia Littleton, “Sinclair Broadcast Group Sets $3.9 Billion Deal to Acquire Tribune Media“, Variety, 05/08/17; Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBGI), Yahoo Finance, accessed 08/22/17]
WHAT IT IS WORTH NOW AND HOW MUCH THEY HAVE LOST
- On July 16, 2018, Ajit Pai announced that he wanted a judge to review the Sinclair merger with Tribune. On July 17, 2018, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Class A stock had an adjusted close price of $28.05 per share. [Edmund Lee, “In Blow to Sinclair, F.C.C. Chief Says He Has ‘Serious Concerns’ With Tribune Deal,” New York Times, 07/16/18; Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBGI), Yahoo Finance, accessed 07/16/18]
- Altogether, shareholders have lost a total of $540,520,660 in Sinclair Broadcast Group Class A stock value since Sinclair announced their intended merger with Tribune Media Company. [Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBGI), Yahoo Finance, accessed 07/16/18]
- Altogether, the brothers combine for a total loss of $201,736,479 in Sinclair Broadcast Group Class A stock value since announcing their intended merger with Tribune Media Company. [Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBGI), Yahoo Finance, accessed 07/16/18]
HOW THAT COMPARES
- Since Sinclair Broadcast Group’s intended merger with Tribune Media was announced, the value of Sinclair’s Class A stock is down more than 20.1 percent. During the same period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 19.54, which means Sinclair is lagging behind the DOW significantly. [Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), Yahoo Finance, accessed 07/17/18.]
- Even compared to the rest of the broadcasting industry, Sinclair is floundering. On July 17, 2018, Zacks Equity Research reported that “the company’s stock… has lost 12.6% over the past year against the 35.6% gain of the industry.” [Zacks Equity Research, “Sinclair-Tribune Deal in Trouble as FCC Raises Concerns,” Nasdaq.com, 07/17/18]