A massive media deal is in the works which would bring brands like Warner Bros film and TV, HBO TV series, Discovery's reality-TV shows and cable networks like CNN under one roof. Reports said that giants WarnerMedia and Discovery would merge and a deal could be announced on Monday.
US telecommunications giant AT&T owns WarnerMedia unit, a brand that owns CNN and HBO. A merger of the unit with Discovery media would create a super-sized media company that could take on companies like Netflix and Disney.
AT&T to Remain in Control of New Company
The new entity would be owned by AT&T and Discovery jointly, a CNBC report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Details were not shared, nor were the companies available to comment.
Some reports said a deal could be announced as early as Monday, a Bloomberg said a deal could be announced announced as soon as this week.
$150 Billion Tie-Up
AT&T is in talks with with Discovery to hammer out a $150 billion tie-up to take the fight to the camp of streaming services Netflix and Disney+, the Guardian reported. AT&T had acquired the media assets of Time Warner for $85 billion some three years ago.
The US telecom giant now wants to offload the media content division WarnerMedia and merge it with Discovery.
Discovery CEO to Run New Entity
While AT&T would retain control over the new entity, David Zaslav, the chief executive of Discovery, would probably be in charge of running the new company, the Guardian reported. AT&T has a market value of about $230 billion, while Discovery's market value is estimated to be $30 billion.
