California Attorney General Rob Bonta, joined by attorneys general from seven other states, filed a lawsuit to block the $6.2 billion merger between Nexstar Media Group and Tegna Inc. The lawsuit alleges the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act by reducing competition in local TV markets, leading to higher prices, less local news, and job losses.
The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction to prevent the merger from proceeding.
In-house legal teams should review all merger and acquisition agreements, including the definitive merger agreement between Nexstar and Tegna, as well as any related shareholder agreements or financing documents. Key clauses to scrutinize include antitrust compliance representations and warranties, regulatory approval conditions (particularly those referencing Section 7 of the Clayton Act), termination rights tied to failure to obtain government clearance, material adverse change (MAC) clauses, and any divestiture or remedy provisions. Given the lawsuit's focus on market concentration and consumer harm, teams must assess whether existing covenants adequately address potential antitrust enforcement actions and consider negotiating amendments to strengthen compliance obligations, adjust termination fees, or incorporate specific divestiture commitments if required by regulators. Additionally, review any clauses related to operational integration that might impact local news staffing or market-level competition, as these could be relevant to ongoing litigation risk.
Entity
Nexstar Media Group, Inc. and Tegna Inc.
Also known as: Nexstar Media Group and Tegna
Industry
Media & EntertainmentOfficial Press Release
https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-files-lawsuit-seeking-block-62-billion-nexstartegna
2026.03.18 Complaint for Permanent Injunction Redacted
https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/2026.03.18%20Complaint%20for%20Permanent%20Injunction%20Redacted.pdf
California Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/privacy-enforcement-actions
"the acquisition of Tegna Inc. (Tegna) by Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (Nexstar)"
"Section 7 of the Clayton Act"
"mergers that substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly are illegal"
Antitrust enforcement action where Oregon AG filed a lawsuit to block the $6.2 billion merger of Nexstar and Tegna, alleging it violates Clayton Act Section 7 by substantially lessening competition in broadcasting, which could harm local news and raise consumer prices.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education to block the expansion of IPEDS data collection requiring colleges to submit race-linked student data. The lawsuit argues the demand is arbitrary, capricious, and burdensome, and could enable costly partisan investigations. A multistate coalition co-led the challenge.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a coalition of state attorneys general announced they will continue their antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation/Ticketmaster after the U.S. Department of Justice settled the case. The states aim to hold Live Nation accountable for anticompetitive conduct that harms consumers, artists, and venues in the live music industry.
$376K
The California Privacy Protection Agency (CalPrivacy) settled with Ford Motor Company requiring the company to pay a $375,703 fine and change its practices. Ford violated the CCPA by requiring consumers to complete an email verification step before they could opt-out of the sale and sharing of their personal information collected through digital properties and connected vehicle services. In addition to the fine, Ford must provide easy methods to submit opt-out requests with minimal steps, audit its tracking technologies, and ensure compliance with opt-out preference signals including Global Privacy Control.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, co-leading a bipartisan coalition of 21 attorneys general and charitable regulators, sent a letter to GoFundMe demanding the platform remove all plagiarized donation web pages for over 1.4 million charities, disclose information about donations, and ensure pages do not outrank official charity sites in search results. The action follows reports that GoFundMe used charities' information without consent and engaged in deceptive solicitations, violating state charitable solicitation and consumer protection laws.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services opposing a proposed rule that would eliminate model card requirements for AI tools in healthcare, warning that such rollbacks could lead to biased and unsafe healthcare decisions by reducing transparency.