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Paul, Weiss Advises Advance in Completed $150 Billion WarnerMedia-Discovery Combination
- Client News
- April 8, 2022
Paul, Weiss advised media conglomerate Advance in the combination of AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia with Discovery, Inc., to create Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc., a premier standalone global media and entertainment company. Advance is a founder and major shareholder in Discovery.
Under the terms of the transaction, AT&T spun out its existing WarnerMedia assets, which merged with Discovery. AT&T’s shareholders received stock representing 71% of the new company, which is being led by Discover’s President and CEO, David Zaslav. Advance will be the largest continuing stockholder of the combined company and has designated two of its representatives to serve on the company’s board of directors.
Combining WarnerMedia’s premium entertainment, sports and news assets with Discovery’s leading nonfiction and international entertainment and sports businesses, the deal creates a pure-play content company with one of the deepest libraries in the world. The resulting company brings together over 100 of the most cherished, popular and trusted brands in the world, including HBO, Warner Bros., Discovery, DC Comics, CNN, Cartoon Network, HGTV, Food Network, the Turner Networks, TNT, TBS, Eurosport, Magnolia, TLC, Animal Planet, ID and many more.
The Paul, Weiss team included, among others, corporate partners Robert Schumer, Cullen Sinclair, Caith Kushner and John Kennedy and counsel Jason Tyler and Frances Mi; tax partners Jeffrey Samuels and Brian Krause and counsel Alyssa Wolpin; litigation partners Jaren Janghorbani, Aidan Synnott and Lewis Clayton and counsel Paul Paterson; executive compensation partner Lawrence Witdorchic; and antitrust counsel Marta Kelly and Yuni Sobel.