By Ryan Faughnder and Stephen Battaglio

Los Angeles Times

Nexstar Media Group Inc. has agreed to buy Tribune Media Co., in a $4.1 billion deal that would create the nation’s largest owner of local television stations, according to a person with knowledge of the deal who was not authorized to comment on it.

Irving, Texas-based Nexstar — whose portfolio is composed of 174 stations, including affiliates of NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox — outbid private equity giant Apollo Global Management with an all-cash offer of about $46.50 a share. News agency Reuters first reported the deal.

The expected transaction, which could be announced as soon as Monday, comes during a wave of consolidation in the media industry. Companies are feeling pressure to get bigger so they can stay competitive.

Chicago-based Tribune Media owns and operates 42 local stations reaching about 50 million households, including Los Angeles outlet KTLA-TV 5.

A Tribune Media spokesman declined to comment. Representatives for Nexstar and Apollo did not respond to requests for comment.

Nearly four months ago, a plan for Tribune Media to sell itself to Sinclair Broadcast Group collapsed after the deal became a regulatory and political flashpoint for the companies.

Nexstar’s $46.50-a-share offer is slightly more than the $43.50 a share, in a combination of cash and stock, that Sinclair had offered to pay.

Tribune Media shares closed at $40.26 on Friday. Nexstar closed at $82.64 a share.