AT&T and Discovery officially confirmed reports of them merging their entertainment divisions together into a new company.
AT&T is the parent company of WarnerMedia who is the parent company of TNT.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, AT&T was originally in talks for a merger deal with NBCU which would have resulted in both WWE and AEW being under the same umbrella but those talks went nowhere in the end. Right now AEW and Vice's Dark Side of the Ring series will be under the same umbrella with the potential of MLW joining them in the future based on the rumored talks they've had with Discovery.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by PWI
AT&T and Discovery Inc. officially announced their merger of their entertainment assets during a press conference earlier today.
The new company, which hasn't been given a new name nor has a management structure, will be led by Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
Under the terms of the agreement, which is structured as an all-stock transaction, AT&T would receive $43 billion in a combination of cash, debt securities, and WarnerMedia’s retention of certain debt, and AT&T’s shareholders would receive stock representing 71% of the new company; Discovery shareholders would own 29% of the new company.
The transaction is anticipated to close in mid-2022, subject to approval by Discovery shareholders and regulators.
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by PWI
Bloomberg reported over the weekend that Warnermedia has been in talks with Discovery Inc. about merging it's media entertainment assets, which includes TNT. A deal could be announced as soon as today with some reports believing that Warner is looking to spin off HBO and other assets. Warnermedia broadcasts AEW on TNT every week. Discovery owns Discovery+, which had been in early talks with MLW and carries Dark Side of the Ring.
The Hollywood Reporter has a major speculatory breakdown of the potential ripple effects of the deal at this link. Interesting to note that they stated the initial belief was that NBCU would have ended up with Warnermedia, which would have meant they would have had both WWE and AEW under their umbrella, which could have been quite the interesting twist for well, everyone, in pro wrestling.
|