Sinclair Broadcast Group plans to reorganize its business and change its name to Sinclair Inc., the Hunt Valley-based television station owner said and The Baltimore Sun reported. A newly created holding company called Sinclair would become the publicly traded parent of Sinclair Broadcast and its subsidiaries, which include the struggling Diamond Sports Group, which owns regional sports networks and airs games for 14 MLB teams. Diamond Sports filed for bankruptcy protection in March, burdened by more than $8 billion in debt. Sinclair Broadcast has been best known as a television broadcaster, but the company and its affiliates also own, manage and or operate a range of businesses. They include the Tennis Channel, intellectual property used in broadcast technology, technical and software services companies, marketing technology firm Compulse and assets such as real estate, venture capital, private equity, and direct investments. The restructuring is designed to “unlock unrecognized value” of the non-broadcast businesses and offer greater flexibility for growth of current and potential future ventures, the company said. The reorganization, completed through a share exchange, requires approval of two-thirds of votes cast at a special stockholders meeting expected to be held in the second quarter.
