Sinclair Seen Weighing Gray Takeover After Losing Belo: Real M&A

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. tried and failed to steal Belo Corp. from the clutches of Gannett Co., leaving Gray Television Inc. and Lin LLC as targets for the largest U.S. TV station owner.

Sinclair twice tried to top Gannett’s offer for Belo in the days before the shareholder vote, said people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the process was private. Sinclair first sought to assemble a deal with various Belo shareholders, and then attempted to put together an offer with private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners Ltd., the people said. Neither effort led to a bid, they said, and Belo shareholders approved Gannett’s $1.5 billion offer on Sept. 25.