Sinclair says they are rebranding the company and intends to implement a reorganization in which a new holding company, Sinclair, Inc.

Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley says this about the reason the company is rebranding. “We believe the new structure will provide greater flexibility for creating value within the company. The new structure simplifies the corporate structure and improves the transparency of financial disclosures on the value drivers of the company,” Ripley said. “We believe these other assets, some of which are currently buried in the broadcast division, can receive greater visibility outside the ‘broadcast’ umbrella, while Sinclair Broadcast will become a broadcast-focused subsidiary for which stockholders can better value its true performance. In short, we believe a holding company structure can unlock unrecognized value and provide structural flexibility for the growth and monetization of our current and potential future media and non-media businesses.”

So….

Why is Sinclair, which has filed bankruptcy with its sports channels and is implementing layoffs and cutting newscasts at some of their stations, spending time and effort to rebrand the company?

Well, look no further than the internal memo that was sent to the employees from Ripley. After getting through all the bullshit, you reach this paragraph at the bottom of the memo:

Taxes - We expect the reorganization to qualify as a tax-free reorganization under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, so that it will not result in any gain or loss to Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.'s shareholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

“To qualify as a tax-free reorganization…”

Now we get it.

Here’s the memo sent to the staff: