Shares in local TV giant Tegna surged nearly 30% in mid-day trading Monday on news that leading station owner Nexstar is in advanced talks to acquire the company.

A source familiar with the discussions confirmed them to Deadline. The valuation remains unclear for the time being, but it will be well into the billions. Tegna in 2023 had an $8.6 billion offer (including debt) from private equity firm Standard General. At that time, under Democrats’ control, the FCC effectively blocked the transaction over concerns that it would prompt excessive layoffs and unfairly burden workers.

The Wall Street Journal had the first report of the potential merger on Friday evening.

Since Donald Trump has returned to the White House, his pick to lead the FCC , Brendan Carr, has echoed calls fro

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