21st Century Fox is in talks with private equity giant Blackstone to buy Tribune Media, one of America’s largest television station operators, sources familiar with the matter have said.



Blackstone would provide the cash while the Rupert Murdoch-controlled Fox, which owns Fox News Channel and other assets, would provide the TV stations for the joint venture, according to one of the sources.

Another source, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said bids were due on Thursday.

Tribune Media owns a range of television stations across the US, as well as the cable channel WGN. It was created in 2014 when the Tribune company spun off its famous print division – home to the Chicago Tribune, LA Times and Baltimore Sun – into a separate entity called Tribune Publishing and renamed the remainder company Tribune Media.

Representatives for Tribune Media and Blackstone declined to comment. Fox could not immediately be reached for comment. The Financial Times first reported the negotiations.

Nexstar Media Group has also been carrying out due diligence on Tribune Media, and was considering a bid this week, according to two sources. Nexstar could not immediately be reached for comment.

Sinclair Broadcast Group was also in the running for Tribune, Reuters reported in March.

The potential bid from Blackstone and Fox comes less than two weeks after the US federal communications commission voted to reverse a 2016 decision that limited the number of television stations some broadcasters can buy.