Tegna Blasts Standard General in Letter to Shareholders

22/01/2020

In a letter to shareholders, Tegna defended its performance and attacked Standard Media, which is seeking seats on Tegna's board, as conflicted.

Last week Standard Media said it has an 8.7% stake in Tegna and put its founder, Soohyung Kim up for a board seat.

Tegna pushed back last week and this week is appealing to shareholders.

In its letter, Tegna said its board evaluated Kim. Based on this in-depth evaluation, the Board has serious concerns about Mr. Kim's prior board service. Many who know him well commented on his track record of endorsing and executing corporate actions in favor of his own interests to the detriment of other shareholders, as well as a dismissive attitude toward the perspectives of other directors, Tegna said in its letter.

Tegna also said that Standard General has conflicted because it has stake in two other companies that own media properties.

We believe that it is highly inappropriate for another industry operator to have access to Tegna's proprietary information, including our M&A pipeline, product development plans, R&D efforts, and partnership and affiliation strategies. Accordingly, the Board has unanimously determined that adding Mr. Kim to the Board is not in the best interests of Tegna and its shareholders, the letter said.

Tegna said that contrary to Standard General's assertions, it's board is open to all paths to create value.

It added that since becoming a pure-play TV company, two year total shareholders returns have been 23.6%.

Tegna is executing on its proven strategy to generate value through organic growth and targeted M&A. As a best-in-class operator in the markets we serve, with top-of-the-market retransmission rates and TSR performance well above our peers, Tegna is delivering for shareholders, the letter concluded. We will communicate regularly with you in advance of the 2020 Annual Meeting and thank you for your support.

Here is the text of the Tegna letter:

Dear Fellow TEGNA Shareholders,

Over the past several years, TEGNA has transformed its portfolio to become a pure-play broadcasting company, adding more than 40 stations in attractive markets and divesting non-core assets. As a result of this strategic evolution, TEGNA has generated attractive revenue and cash flow growth, reduced economic cyclicality and delivered value for shareholders.

TEGNA is now one of the largest U.S. broadcasting groups and a leading local news and media content provider in the markets we serve. Through the combination of our growing subscription and political revenues and our proven M&A track record, TEGNA is generating substantial free cash flow and shareholder value. Further, as a preferred M&A partner, TEGNA is well positioned to benefit as a platform for further industry consolidation.

The successful execution of TEGNA's strategy has delivered significant shareholder value. With the completion of our transformation into a pure-play broadcasting company following separation from Gannett in 2015, the spinoff of Cars.com in June 2017 and the sale of our remaining stake in CareerBuilder in July 2017, TEGNA today is a fundamentally different company and has outperformed its peers.

Post-transformation into a pure-play, TEGNA's two-year total shareholder return (TSR) in 2018-2019 was 23.6% relative to the peer median of 3.1%. Moreover, our one-year TSR in 2019 was 56.4% compared to the peer median of 29.0%. These are the appropriate time periods to evaluate the success of our current strategy, which was implemented after exiting our previously owned publishing and digital businesses. With our recent report of quarterly outperformance on January 9, the upward momentum of our stock price has continued into 2020.

TEGNA is focused on five pillars of value creation best-in-class operations, disciplined pursuit of M&A opportunities, innovation and expansion into adjacent businesses, maintaining a strong balance sheet and rapidly de-levering, and producing strong financial performance. We delivered revenues of $2.3 billion and Adjusted EBITDA of more than $700 million in 2019, and are positioned to take advantage of robust growth opportunities in 2020 and beyond.

A CONFLICTED INVESTMENT FIRM IS DEMANDING SEATS ON

TEGNA'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Since Standard General's disclosure in August 2019 of a position in TEGNA, our Board and management team have met on multiple occasions with Mr. Soohyung Kim, Standard General's Founding Partner, to learn about his perspective on TEGNA. In those meetings, Mr. Kim demanded a board seat for himself, but offered no concrete ideas to create shareholder value.

TEGNA's Board thoroughly evaluated Mr. Kim as a potential director. Board members, including the independent Chairman and members of the Nominating and Governance Committee, held several meetings with him, interviewed a number of people who have served with him on other boards (including those he offered as references), and conducted a detailed assessment of his track record and current investments in the broadcasting industry.

Based on this in-depth evaluation, the Board has serious concerns about Mr. Kim's prior board service. Many who know him well commented on his track record of endorsing and executing corporate actions in favor of his own interests to the detriment of other shareholders, as well as a dismissive attitude toward the perspectives of other directors.

As further described below, the Board is also concerned that Mr. Kim's significant investments in and influence over other broadcasting companies would create a conflict of interest as a TEGNA director, including with respect to potential investment opportunities in the sector. We believe that it is highly inappropriate for another industry operator to have access to TEGNA's proprietary information, including our M&A pipeline, product

LINK:	https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/tegna-blasts-standard-general-i...
	See more stories from bandc

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

18/03/2026

Net Insight Names Larissa GrnerMeeus CPO

Newly named chief product officer (CPO), Larissa G rner Meeus will return to Net Insight on May 4. Larissa G rner Meeus will become CPO of Net Insight on May 4...

18/03/2026

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026: Select Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026 explored how the sports broadcasting i...

18/03/2026

SVG's SportsTech@NABShow Blog Goes Live as Countdown to Vegas Heats Up

The 2026 NAB Show kicks off one month from today and SVG is once again set to cover the show from every angle. SVG's SportsTech@NAB Show Blog is now live - ...

18/03/2026

The Premiere of Dead Lover Showcases Grave Robbing and Sex With a Giant Finger

(L-R) The cast and crew of Dead Lover at The Ray Theater for its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundan...

18/03/2026

Music Row Piano from Wiltone Productions

Yamaha C7 captured in Nashville Wiltone Productions have announced the release of Music Row Piano, a deeply sampled Yamaha C7 piano library that's been ...

18/03/2026

Techivation introduce T-Warmer Mk2

Bass-enhancement plug-in upgraded Along with a steady stream of new releases, Techivation have recently been revisiting some of the older plug-ins in their ...

18/03/2026

Tonal Balance Control 3 from iZotope

Mix-reference plug-in overhauled iZotope's powerful mix-referencing plug-in has just reached its third major version, and now boasts a new capture proce...

18/03/2026

Toontrack Transistor Organ EKX

Latest EZKeys 2 expansion arrives Toontrack's staggering collection of EZKeys 2 expansions has grown once again, and the latest instalment delivers a on...

18/03/2026

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture 18 March, 2026 Media releases New SBS Audio podcast For The Culture, hosted ...

18/03/2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz at NAB 2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz...

18/03/2026

LCTWS 2026

London Calling - When The Industry Convened to Help Streaming Find its MoJo In this blog, Laura Rognoni reflects on key discussions from the Connected TV World...

18/03/2026

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, a...

18/03/2026

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments LED wall virtual production blends 12K open gate acquisition w...

18/03/2026