Colorado Court Temporarily Blocks Nexstar and Tegna Merger
Catch up on the weekend's top five stories with this list compiled by The Fly: 1) Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced on X Friday night that the judge in the state's case challenging the Nexstar (NXST) - Tegna merger issued a temporary restraining order, blocking the companies from merging. On April 7, the judge will consider the request to bar the merger "while we make our case to stop it permanently," Weiser added. U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley sided with DirecTV, which claimed that Nexstar's acquisition of Tegna would "drive up the price it can extract from DirecTV and other distributors," bring layoffs and reduce competition. DirecTV established "a likelihood of success on the merits" on its claim, and that moving forward with the transaction would create "irreparable harm," the judge wrote. Eight states sued to block the merger in a separate filing on the same day as DirecTV's. 2) Insilico Medicine announced a drug discovery collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) that uses Insilico's AI engine to accelerate the discovery and development of novel therapeutics across multiple therapeutic areas. The agreement grants Lilly an exclusive worldwide license for the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of potentially best-in-class, novel oral therapeutics in preclinical development for certain indications. In addition, Insilico and Lilly will collaborate on multiple R&D programs focused on targets selected by Lilly, by combining Insilico's state-of-the-art Pharma.AI platforms with Lilly's development capabilities and deep disease-area expertise. Under the terms of the agreement, Insilico is eligible to receive an $115 million upfront payment, followed by development, regulatory, and commercial milestones that could bring the total deal value to approximately $2.75 billion, plus tiered royalties on future sales. 3) Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) announced positive data from the Phase 3 Scout-HCM trial of Camzyos, the first study of a cardiac myosin inhibitor in adolescents with symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The Scout-HCM trial met its primary endpoint, demonstrating a clinically meaningful and statistically significant reduction from baseline in Valsalva left ventricular outflow tract gradient at Week 28 with Camzyos versus placebo. 4) Eli Lilly and Company announced detailed results from the Together-PsA open-label Phase 3b clinical trial evaluating the concomitant use of Taltz and Zepbound compared to Taltz alone in adults with active psoriatic arthritis and obesity or overweight with at least one additional weight-related comorbid condition. At the primary endpoint of 36 weeks, treatment with concomitant Taltz and Zepbound met the primary and all key secondary endpoints for statistically significant superiority to Taltz monotherapy. 5) Boston Scientific (BSX) announced that the Champion-AF global clinical trial met all primary and secondary safety and efficacy endpoints. The study evaluated the Watchman FLX Left Atrial Appendage Closure, LAAC, Device compared to non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants, NOACs, as a first-line option for stroke risk reduction in a broad population of patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation, NVAF. At 36 months: The primary safety endpoint was met with data demonstrating the WATCHMAN FLX device was statistically superior to NOACs for non-procedural major and clinically relevant non-major bleeding, achieving a 45% relative reduction in non-procedural bleeding risk.
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- Merger Halt Order: U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley issued a late Friday order to pause the Nexstar-Tegna merger due to an antitrust lawsuit filed by TPG-owned DirecTV, which argues that the deal could lead to more frequent programming blackouts and increased consumer prices.
- Merger Context: The $6.2 billion merger between Nexstar and Tegna was completed last week after receiving clearance from the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice, but DirecTV's lawsuit introduces new legal challenges that could affect the operational model post-merger.
- Legal Challenges: A coalition of eight Democratic state attorneys general, including those from California, New York, and Colorado, has filed a similar lawsuit against the merger, reflecting widespread concerns about market competition and consumer interests, which may lead to stricter regulatory scrutiny.
- Next Steps: The judge has scheduled a court hearing for April 7 to determine whether to maintain the restraining order pending the outcome of a full trial, which could significantly impact Nexstar's integration plans.
- Judicial Decision: A U.S. judge has issued a temporary restraining order affecting Nexstar's operations.
- Impact on Tegna: The order requires Nexstar to hold Tegna separate, indicating potential regulatory concerns or legal disputes.
- Early Settlement Date: Nexstar Media Inc. has announced an Early Settlement Date of March 25, 2026, for TEGNA's 5.000% Senior Notes, reflecting the company's commitment to swift debt management following the acquisition.
- Tender Offer Success: As of March 18, 2026, 94.23% of the Notes, amounting to $1.036 billion, were validly tendered, indicating strong market response and increased investor confidence in the acquisition.
- Merger Condition Met: Nexstar completed the acquisition of TEGNA on March 19, 2026, satisfying the conditions for early settlement and further solidifying its market position in the media industry.
- Future Plans: Despite the confirmed early settlement, Nexstar intends to accept any valid tenders until the expiration time on April 2, 2026, demonstrating the company's ability to adapt to market changes.

Announcement of Settlement Date: NEXSTAR MEDIA INC. has announced an early settlement date for its previously announced tender offer and consent solicitation.
Details of the Tender Offer: The tender offer pertains to all of Tegna Inc.'s 5.000% senior notes due in 2029.

- S&P Dow Jones Indices Update: The S&P Dow Jones Indices will replace Tegna Inc. with Vita Coco Company in the S&P Small Cap 600 index.
- Impact on Market: This change reflects ongoing adjustments in the index to better represent the market and its sectors.
- Temporary Restraining Order: Eight states, including California and New York, have requested a judge to temporarily block Nexstar Media Group's $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna, aiming to protect competition and public interest through lawful and transparent judicial review.
- Antitrust Lawsuit Context: The request follows a lawsuit filed by state attorneys general on Wednesday, expressing concerns that Nexstar's acquisition could violate antitrust laws and negatively impact market competition.
- Transaction Completion and Stock Reaction: Despite the legal challenges, Nexstar announced the completion of the acquisition, with Tegna's shares being delisted, while Nexstar's stock rose by 2%, indicating a positive initial market reaction to the deal.
- Regulatory Approval: The transaction received approval from the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday, despite state objections, suggesting regulatory support for the merger that may influence future legal proceedings.








