Sinclair Broadcast Group is close to accepting an antitrust deal with the U.S. Department of Justice that involves selling off some of its stations to move forward with a $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media.

The executive department has proposed Sinclair sell 13 Tribune stations in order to gain regulatory approval. While Sinclair is hoping to get that number down to 10, the company is poised to accept the offer in order to close the sale, according to The New York Post.

Wth 193 TV stations spread over 89 markets, Sinclair is the largest TV station owner in the country. Its buyout of Tribune includes 42 TV stations in 33 markets, cable network WGN America, digital multicast network Antenna TV and a minority stake in Food Network, FierceCable reports.

The proposal has sparked opposition from a coalition of TV and media groups worried the merger would give Sinclair “excessive, unbalanced market power,” referring specifically to the company’s habit of requiring its owned stations to run conservative-leaning editorial.

The coalition is composed of the American Cable Association. Common Cause, the Competitive Carriers Association and the Computer and Communications Industry Association

RELATED: Sinclair-Tribune Opponents Warn of ‘Unbalanced Market Power’

While the deal is still under review by the FCC, the company’s real hurdle has been with the Justice Department, which Sinclair has not been able to convince to expand the definition of market share in order to keep all 42 of the Tribune stations it plans to buy.

Now, Sinclair is reportedly ready to sell off at least 10 of those stations, and has received bids from Nexstar Media, Tegna and Meredith, FierceCable reports.

Sinclair expects to close on the Tribune Media acquisition early next year, The New York Post reports.

READ MORE: The New York Post, FierceCable

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