WarnerMedia and Discovery close merger

AT&T and Discovery Inc. announced on Friday that they had closed their merger between AT&T’s WarnerMedia and Discovery, which will now be known as Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

Beginning on Monday, the company will start trading under the ticker symbol “WBD” on the Nasdaq. AT&T received over $40 billion in cash at close.

The new media company will house different media brands such as CNN and its streaming service CNN+, the Travel Channel, Cartoon Network, Discovery Channel and its streaming service discovery+, Animal Planet and others.

“With our collective assets and diversified business model, Warner Bros. Discovery offers the most differentiated and complete portfolio of content across film, television and streaming,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said in a statement. 

“We are confident that we can bring more choice to consumers around the globe while fostering creativity and creating value for shareholders.”

The development comes close to one year after AT&T announced it would be merging WarnerMedia with Discovery Inc. Discovery said in a regulatory filing in February that the Department of Justice had approved the merger.

Earlier this week, Discovery announced the executive leadership team leading WarnerMedia, which includes Warner Bros. Television Group chairman Channing Dungey and HBO & HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys, who are both continuing in those roles. 

“We are at the dawn of a new age of connectivity, and today marks the beginning of a new era for AT&T,” AT&T CEO John Stankey said in a statement on Friday. “With the close of this transaction, we expect to invest at record levels in our growth areas of 5G and fiber, where we have strong momentum, while we work to become America’s best broadband company.”