AT&T to spin off WarnerMedia in $43-billion Discovery merger, cuts dividend

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Reuters

AT&T to spin off WarnerMedia in $43-billion Discovery merger, cuts dividend

Kenneth Li
Tue, February 1, 2022, 6:37 AM

(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 and also cut its dividend by nearly half.

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. AT&T will have 7.2 billion diluted shares outstanding after the transaction closes.

The U.S. telecoms group will pay a dividend of $1.11 per share, down from $2.08 per share. This is at the lower end of an $8 billion to $9 billion range AT&T had forecast earlier. ... In premarket trading, AT&T shares were down 4%.

The deal to unwind AT&T's $85 billion purchase of Time Warner was announced early last year, but some financial details were not disclosed until Tuesday.

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[JohnSJ]

1. I suspect this will also drop the price of both T and WMDiscovery

[Sherman A1]

2. It will be interesting to see what this does

To AT&Ts share prices. They have recovered some of late, but I’ve classified them as an entertainment stock which for me means just one to laugh at as it goes down and down.