Nexstar Broadcasting Extends Employment Agreement of Thomas E. Carter, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Through December 2021
IRVING, Texas – Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. (the “Company”) (Nasdaq: NXST), announced today that its Board of Directors has extended the employment agreement of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Thomas E. Carter through December 31, 2021. The extension supersedes Mr. Carter’s prior employment agreement, which was to conclude in August 2018. Since joining Nexstar as Chief Financial Officer in August 2009, Mr. Carter has engineered and overseen a series of accretive growth transactions, capital structure improvements, operational efficiency enhancements and return of capital initiatives which have contributed to a 60-fold appreciation in the Company’s equity valuation during his tenure.
Commenting on the agreement, Perry A. Sook, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nexstar Broadcasting Group stated, “In his seven years at Nexstar, Tom has been instrumental in structuring accretive growth transactions, extracting synergies through precise integration planning, bringing new efficiencies to our operating practices and significantly enhancing the Company’s access to and cost of growth capital. As a result, and upon completion of the Media General transaction, Nexstar will be one of the nation’s leading, diversified local marketing and content companies with annual revenue in excess of $2.3 billion.
“We are grateful to Tom’s value-building contributions and look forward to the continued benefit of his vision and commitment to the Company’s viewers, advertising clients and shareholders. Tom has been invaluable in our capital market interactions while positioning Nexstar for continued growth with a portfolio of premiere stations and digital assets, a strong balance sheet and an attractive weighted average cost of capital which collectively affords us the financial flexibility to simultaneously allocate free cash flow to reduce leverage, evaluate additional accretive strategic growth investments and expand our return of capital to shareholders.”
Prior to joining Nexstar, Mr. Carter served as Managing Director, Media Telecom Corporate Investment Banking at Banc of America Securities, which he joined in 1985. In this position, he acted as the senior banker responsible for delivering bank products and services including M&A, private and public equity, high-yield debt, fixed income derivatives, syndicated financial products and treasury management for selected clients across the broadcasting, cable, publishing and media industries, including Nexstar Broadcasting. Mr. Carter began his banking career in 1980, serving for five years in various roles in Corporate and International Banking at a predecessor to JPMorgan Chase.
Under the terms of the new employment agreement, Mr. Carter will remain eligible to receive an annual performance-based bonus and is expected to be granted certain equity-based compensation incentives that will continue to align his performance with the interests of all shareholders and the Company’s long-term enhancement of shareholder value.
About Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc.
Nexstar Broadcasting Group is a leading diversified media company that leverages localism to bring new services and value to consumers and advertisers through its traditional media, digital and mobile media platforms. Nexstar owns, operates, programs or provides sales and other services to 104 television stations and 200 related digital multicast signals reaching 62 markets or approximately 18.1% of all U.S. television households. Nexstar’s portfolio includes primary affiliates of NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, MyNetworkTV and The CW. Nexstar’s community portal websites offer additional hyper-local content and verticals for consumers and advertisers, allowing audiences to choose where, when and how they access content while creating new revenue opportunities.
Pro-forma for the completion of all announced transactions, Nexstar will own, operate, program or provide sales and other services to 171 television stations and their related low power and digital multicast signals reaching 100 markets or nearly 39% of all U.S. television households. For more information please visit www.nexstar.tv.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication includes forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. Forward-looking statements include information preceded by, followed by, or that includes the words “guidance,” “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “could,” or similar expressions. For these statements, Nexstar and Media General claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements contained in this communication, concerning, among other things, the ultimate outcome and benefits of a transaction between Nexstar and Media General and timing thereof, and future financial performance, including changes in net revenue, cash flow and operating expenses, involve risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change based on various important factors, including the timing to consummate the proposed transaction; the risk that a condition to closing of the proposed transaction may not be satisfied and the transaction may not close; the risk that a regulatory approval that may be required for the proposed transaction is delayed, is not obtained or is obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated, the impact of changes in national and regional economies, the ability to service and refinance our outstanding debt, successful integration of Media General (including achievement of synergies and cost reductions), pricing fluctuations in local and national advertising, future regulatory actions and conditions in the television stations’ operating areas, competition from others in the broadcast television markets, volatility in programming costs, the effects of governmental regulation of broadcasting, industry consolidation, technological developments and major world news events. Nexstar and Media General undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this communication might not occur. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. For more details on factors that could affect these expectations, please see the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus of Nexstar and Media General and Media General’s and Nexstar’s other filings with the SEC.
Contact:
Thomas E. Carter
Chief Financial Officer
Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc.
972/373-8800
Joseph Jaffoni, Jennifer Neuman
JCIR
212/835-8500 or nxst@jcir.com