Warner Bros. Discovery Formalizes Break-Up Plans
From Yahoo Finance: 2025-06-10 06:30:00
Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans to split into two separate entities, with one focusing on streaming and studios and the other on global networks. The streaming company will include HBO Max and Warner Bros. film studio, while the global networks company will take control of cable brands like CNN and TBS, along with a majority of the company’s debt.
The decision to split comes as Warner Bros. Discovery faces challenges from both its declining cable empire and emerging streaming business. The two new companies will be independently operated and publicly traded, with the streaming company led by current CEO David Zaslav and the global networks company led by CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels.
The debt burden will be shared between the two entities, with the global networks company retaining a 20% stake in the streaming and studios business to help with payments. In the first quarter, the cable-centric unit generated nearly $1.8 billion in adjusted EBITDA, compared to $540 million from the streaming and studios unit.