May 17, 2021
AT&T Inc. is preparing to spin off its media business and merge it with with Discovery Inc. in a tax-friendly deal, according to people with knowledge of the matter, a surprise reversal for a company that spent $85 billion to acquire the assets less than three years ago.
A deal could be announced as soon as this week, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information was private.
The transaction will be structured as a so-called Reverse Morris Trust, or a merger with another company that’s structured to be tax-free, one of the people said.
Warner, Discovery in shock merger talks
US telecoms giant AT&T is close to a deal to combine HBO, CNN and Cartoon Network owner WarnerMedia with factual juggernaut Discovery, according to reports.
Jason Kilar
The mammoth deal would see AT&T spin off its media business – formed following its US$108.7bn acquisition of Time Warner, now known as WarnerMedia, in 2018 – into a new entity together with Discovery, with an estimated value of US$150bn.
The proposed tie-up has sent shockwaves around Hollywood and was first reported by Bloomberg over the weekend.
Citing people with knowledge of the talks, the report claims a deal could be announced as soon as this week. Representatives for AT&T and Discovery have yet to comment on the story.
The Straits Times
AT&T to merge media assets with Discovery in US$43 billion deal
The plan will combine Discovery s reality-TV empire with AT&T s vast media holdings, which include CNN and HBO.PHOTOS: REUTERS, NYTIMES
Published5 hours ago
https://str.sg/JvP8
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