Sinclair is undertaking a company reorganization that will see the publicly traded company rename itself from Sinclair Broadcast Group to Sinclair Inc.
The goal of the new structure, according to Sinclair, is to improve transparency on the company’s value drivers. Once reorganization is complete, SBG along with a new unit called Sinclair Ventures, will become direct subsidiaries of Sinclair Inc.
Sinclair Ventures, which will manage Sinclair’s private equity and real estate assets, will also become the parent company of digital marketing platform Compulse and the Tennis Channel sports network, currently owned by the Sinclair Television Group subsidiary.
“We believe these other assets, some of which are currently buried in the broadcast division, can receive greater visibility outside the ‘broadcast’ umbrella, while Sinclair Broadcast will become a broadcast-focused subsidiary for which stockholders can better value its true performance,” said Sinclair President and CEO Chris Ripley in a statement.
Sinclair Television Group and Diamond Sports will remain direct subsidiaries of SBG. Although Diamond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March, Sinclair said the decision to reorganize was made prior to, and is not impacted by, the bankruptcy filing.
Diamond at the time of the filing said it was working on a restructuring support agreement with its largest debt holders and SBG in hopes of emerging as a standalone company.
“In short, we believe a holding company structure can unlock unrecognized value and provide structural flexibility for the growth and monetization of our current and potential future media and non-media businesses,” added Ripley.
Company stockholders are expected to vote on the reorganization sometime in the second quarter of 2023. The reorganization will close following shareholder approval, subject to closing conditions. Sinclair noted it has already obtained required approvals in connection with the reorganization from the Federal Communications Commission.
The company added there won’t be any executive leadership changes resulting from the reorganization, nor will it have a material affect on Sinclair’s existing capital structure. Sinclair will still appear on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the “SBGI” ticker symbol.
News of Sinclair’s company changes comes not long after virtual MVPD Fubo took on a rebranding effort and decided to drop the “TV” from its name to better reflect its media brand. Similarly, NCTC last year rebranded to the National Content & Technology Cooperative, removing the “cable” portion of the name.