Warner Bros. Discovery, the standalone media and entertainment company created through the deal, will begin trading on the Nasdaq under the WBD symbol; AT&T will hold a stake of 71% in Warner Bros. Discovery, while the remaining 29% will be owned by Discovery’s existing shareholders
AT&T completes sale of WarnerMedia business to Discovery. (Credit: AT&T Intellectual Property)
Discovery has wrapped up the previously announced $43bn acquisition of AT&T’s WarnerMedia business, enabling it to create an independent streaming company.
Dubbed as Warner Bros. Discovery, the standalone media and entertainment company will start trading on the Nasdaq under the WBD symbol. It will create and distribute content, franchises, and brands across television, film, and streaming.
Warner Bros. Discovery brings together the premium entertainment, sports and news assets of WarnerMedia and the non-fiction and international entertainment and sports businesses of Discovery.
It will cater to direct-to-consumer (DTC) subscribers with content from HBO Max, discovery+, Discovery, Warner Bros., HGTV, CNN, Eurosport, Cartoon Network, Animal Planet, and others.
Discovery CEO David Zaslav said: “Today’s announcement marks an exciting milestone not just for Warner Bros. Discovery but for our shareholders, our distributors, our advertisers, our creative partners and, most importantly, consumers globally.
“With our collective assets and diversified business model, Warner Bros. Discovery offers the most differentiated and complete portfolio of content across film, television and streaming. We are confident that we can bring more choice to consumers around the globe while fostering creativity and creating value for shareholders.”
Under the terms of the deal signed in May 2021, AT&T has been paid $40.4bn in cash and retention of certain debt of WarnerMedia. In addition to that, AT&T’s shareholders were issued 0.24 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery for each share held in AT&T.
As a result of the deal, shareholders of AT&T received 1.7 billion shares of the new independent streaming company, which represents a stake of 71% in the latter. Discovery’s existing shareholders hold the remaining 29% of Warner Bros. Discovery.
AT&T CEO John Stankey said: “The combination of the two companies will strengthen WarnerMedia’s established and leading position in media and streaming. And our shareholders will now have a significant stake in Warner Bros. Discovery and its future successes.”