Gray Media raises $70M in debt to fund acquisition, buy back preferred stock
What's the deal? Gray MediaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → closed a private placement of $70 million in additional 7.250% Senior Secured First Lien Notes due 2033 on June 30, 2026.
The Atlanta-based broadcaster (NYSE: GTN) sold the notes to accredited investors at par plus accrued interest.
It split the proceeds two ways: $40 million toward the first closing of its American Spirit Media acquisition, and the rest to repurchase 50,000 shares of Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock.
That buyback carried a $50 million liquidation preference but cost Gray just $30 million plus accrued dividends.
Why now? Gray announced the American Spirit Media transaction the same day, timing the debt raise to fund it.
The new notes rank equally with the $775 million in existing notes issued in July 2025, forming a single series.
What could go wrong? Gray now carries $845 million in these senior secured notes and 600,000 preferred shares with a $600 million liquidation preference.
Layering on more high-yield debt raises leverage in a broadcast sector under pressure from cord-cutting and shifting ad spend.
The signal: Gray is the nation's largest owner of top-rated local TV stations, serving 117 markets that reach roughly 37% of US households. Buying back preferred stock below its face value while funding the American Spirit Media acquisition signals a company trimming its capital costs even as it consolidates its lead in local broadcast.
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