(Reuters) – AT&T Inc said on Tuesday it will spin off WarnerMedia in a $43 billion transaction to merge its media properties with Discovery Inc.
The U.S. telecoms group will distribute shares of the new Warner Bros. Discovery as a dividend of $1.11 per share, down from $2.08 per share.
AT&T shareholders will own 71% of the new Warner Bros. Discovery company and will receive a 0.24 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery for each AT&T share they own.
“Rather than try to account for market volatility in the near-term and decide where to apportion value in the process of doing an exchange of shares, the spin-off distribution will let the market do what markets do best,” AT&T CEO John Stankey said in a prepared statement.
“We are confident both equities will soon be valued on the solid fundamentals and attractive prospects they represent.”
AT&T anticipates spending about $20 billion in capex this year to invest more heavily into fiber to the home broadband internet services and expanding its 5G wireless footprint.
Warner Bros Discovery will be playing catch up to larger streaming video rival Netflix even though WarnerMedia’s HBO Max grew faster in the United States in the fourth quarter, ending the year with 74 million subscribers.
But the combination, which is expected to close in the second quarter, will be coming together just as Netflix is showing signs of maturity.
(Reporting by Kenneth Li. Editing by Jane Merriman)
