AT&T announced Monday that it was spinning off WarnerMedia into an independent company that will merge with Discovery Inc. and be run by Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
Under the terms of the all-stock agreement, AT&T will receive $43 billion (a figure subject to adjustment) in a combination of cash, debt securities and WarnerMedia’s retention of certain debt, and AT&T’s shareholders will receive stock representing 71% of the new company. Discovery shareholders will own 29% of the new company, which Zaslav said would announced its new name in coming days. The boards of directors at both companies have approved the merger.