The merger has created a leading player in the global media and entertainment market. The new company will be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the symbol "WBD" from the moment it opens on Monday, April 11.
A Major Merger
Discovery + WarnerMedia = Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery will offer a diverse range of original and licensed content, available on television, in cinemas, as well as on streaming platforms. The new offering combines the high-quality entertainment formats, sports coverage, and news programming previously delivered by WarnerMedia with the excellent non-fiction content, international entertainment, and sports known from Discovery's channels – including content broadcast on, among others, Discovery Channel, discovery+, Warner Bros. Entertainment, CNN, CNN+, DC, Eurosport, HBO, HBO Max, HGTV, Food Network, Investigation Discovery, TLC, TNT, TBS, truTV, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and Turner Classic Movies.
By combining our strengths and different business models, Warner Bros. Discovery will offer viewers a diverse and most comprehensive portfolio of content – available in cinemas, on television, and on streaming platforms. We are confident that we will be able to offer our audiences a wealth of formats, and the combination of our companies will foster their further development – while at the same time meeting the expectations of our shareholders. I approach the collaboration of our teams and the development of Warner Bros. Discovery as a place where new, fascinating stories will be born with enormous enthusiasm. – emphasizesDavid Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery.
"We stand on the threshold of epoch-making challenges in communications, and thus we are beginning a new era in AT&T's history" – said John Stankey, CEO of AT&T. "With the finalization of our transaction, we plan record investments in the development of areas such as 5G and fiber optics – which are characterized by high growth dynamics. At the same time, we want to be a leader in the American broadband market. We also want to increase the emphasis on returns for our shareholders. We will invest in growth, improve our financial balance sheet, and reduce our debt levels, while at the same time offering high dividends – thanks to which our shares are among the best in this respect on the American market."
In accordance with the terms of the agreement, which was concluded in the form of a Reverse Morris Trust, at the moment of finalizing the transaction AT&T received USD 40.4 billion in cash, and WarnerMedia retained part of its debt. AT&T shareholders additionally received 0.241917 shares in WBD for each AT&T share they held at the moment of finalizing the transaction. In total, AT&T shareholders received 1.7 billion shares in WBD, which constitutes 71% of all WBD shares. The remaining portion of the new company's shares belongs to Discovery's existing shareholders. In addition to the new WBD shares, AT&T shareholders hold the same number of AT&T shares as at the moment of finalizing the transaction.
