Filing Flows › E.W. Scripps (SSP) › Takeover & LBO
Is E.W. Scripps (SSP) a takeover target?
A leveraged buyout does not work for E.W. Scripps on its latest figures: it has no positive EBITDA to borrow against (−$883M over the last 12 months, on revenue of $2.1B). Historically 4.0% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.8× the average).
Why a leveraged buyout does not fit
A leveraged buyout is paid for mostly with debt that the company's own cash flow repays. E.W. Scripps' EBITDA over the last 12 months was −$883M on revenue of $2.1B, so there is nothing to lend against and nothing to repay a loan with: a buyer would have to pay almost entirely with its own money. That is the kind of deal another company — a strategic buyer that wants the products, the pipeline or the technology — makes, not a private-equity fund. The model therefore gives no buyout price.
What a takeover could cost
Takeovers on record paid a median premium of 32.5% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 20% to 51.8%), according to the 1,437 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, E.W. Scripps would cost about $3.47 a share, $341M for all its shares.
| Premium | % | Price a share | All shares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low end (a quarter of deals paid less) | 20% | $3.14 | $308M |
| Median | 32.5% | $3.47 | $341M |
| High end (a quarter paid more) | 51.8% | $3.98 | $390M |
The odds, from history
Historically 4.0% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.8× the average). Its figures put it in decile 4 of 10 (10 = the most likely to be bought). The odds come from a model of every merger proxy, tender-offer response and going-private statement filed on EDGAR since 2011, set against each company's size, margins, debt, cash flow and growth the year before.
E.W. Scripps' latest quarter
E.W. Scripps, Q3 2026: revenue $545M (+4% year over year), operating margin 12.3%, net earnings $37.7M, operating cash flow $132M. The chart follows the revenue to costs, profit and cash.
Questions
Is E.W. Scripps being acquired?
No headline, 8-K or 13D about a sale is on file in the last year.
Could private equity buy E.W. Scripps?
A leveraged buyout does not work for E.W. Scripps on its latest figures: it has no positive EBITDA to borrow against (−$883M over the last 12 months, on revenue of $2.1B). With no cash flow to repay a loan, a buyer would pay almost entirely with its own money: a deal for another company (a strategic buyer), not for a private-equity fund.
What would a takeover of E.W. Scripps cost?
Takeovers on record paid a median premium of 32.5% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 20% to 51.8%), according to the 1,437 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, E.W. Scripps would cost about $3.47 a share, $341M for all its shares.
Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.