Discovery and AT&T Shut WarnerMedia Transaction
Mixture of Discovery and WarnerMedia Creates Warner Bros. Discovery, International Chief in Leisure and Streaming
Warner Bros. Discovery to Start Buying and selling on the Nasdaq as “WBD” on Monday, April 11
NEW YORK and DALLAS, April 8, 2022 — At the moment Discovery, Inc. and AT&T Inc.* (NYSE:T) introduced that they’ve closed their transaction to mix the WarnerMedia enterprise with Discovery. The mixture creates a premier standalone international media and leisure firm, Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc., which is able to start buying and selling on the Nasdaq with the beginning of buying and selling on Monday, April 11, underneath the brand new ticker image “WBD.”
Warner Bros. Discovery will create and distribute the world’s most differentiated and full portfolio of content material, manufacturers and franchises throughout tv, movie and streaming. The brand new firm combines WarnerMedia’s premium leisure, sports activities and information property with Discovery’s main non-fiction and worldwide leisure and sports activities companies, together with Discovery Channel, discovery+, Warner Bros. Leisure, CNN, CNN+, DC, Eurosport, HBO, HBO Max, HGTV, Meals Community, Investigation Discovery, TLC, TNT, TBS, truTV, Journey Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Community, Grownup Swim, Turner Traditional Motion pictures and others.
“At the moment’s announcement marks an thrilling milestone not only for Warner Bros. Discovery however for our shareholders, our distributors, our advertisers, our inventive companions and, most significantly, shoppers globally,” stated David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery chief govt officer. “With our collective property and diversified enterprise mannequin, Warner Bros. Discovery gives essentially the most differentiated and full portfolio of content material throughout movie, tv and streaming. We’re assured that we are able to deliver extra option to shoppers across the globe whereas fostering creativity and creating worth for shareholders. I can’t look forward to each groups to return collectively to make Warner Bros. Discovery the perfect place for impactful storytelling.”
“We’re on the daybreak of a brand new age of connectivity, and as we speak marks the start of a brand new period for AT&T,” stated John Stankey, AT&T chief govt officer. “With the shut of this transaction, we count on to speculate at report ranges in our progress areas of 5G and fiber, the place now we have robust momentum, whereas we work to grow to be America’s greatest broadband firm. On the similar time, we’ll sharpen our give attention to returns to shareholders. We count on to speculate for progress, strengthen our steadiness sheet and scale back our debt, all whereas persevering with to pay a lovely dividend that places us among the many prime dividend paying shares in America.
“In WarnerMedia, Discovery inherits a gifted and modern workforce and a dynamic rising and international firm that’s effectively positioned to steer the transformation that’s going down throughout media and leisure, direct-to-consumer distribution and expertise. The mixture of the 2 corporations will strengthen WarnerMedia’s established and main place in media and streaming. And our shareholders will now have a big stake in Warner Bros. Discovery and its future successes. We sit up for seeing what the WBD workforce accomplishes with these industry-leading property.”
Below phrases of the settlement, which was structured as a Reverse Morris Belief transaction, at shut AT&T acquired $40.4 billion in money and WarnerMedia’s retention of sure debt. Moreover, shareholders of AT&T acquired 0.241917 shares of WBD for every share of AT&T widespread inventory they held at shut. Because of this, AT&T shareholders acquired 1.7 billion shares of WBD, representing 71% of WBD shares on a totally diluted foundation. Discovery’s current shareholders personal the rest of the brand new firm. Along with their new shares of WBD widespread inventory, AT&T shareholders proceed to carry the identical variety of shares of AT&T widespread inventory they held instantly prior to shut.
