SILVER SPRING, Md.,
March 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
Discovery Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK)
announced today that the company has successfully completed its
acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNI).
Moving forward, the combined company will be officially known as
simply: Discovery, Inc.
"Today marks another critical milestone for Discovery, as we
become a differentiated kind of media company with the most trusted
portfolio of family-friendly brands around the globe," said
David Zaslav, President and Chief
Executive Officer for Discovery. "As a new global leader in real
life entertainment, Discovery will serve loyal and passionate
audiences around the world with content that inspires, informs and
entertains across every screen; deliver new ways for advertisers
and distributors to reach highly targeted audiences at scale; and
leverage our leadership position to create new value and growth
opportunities for all of our stakeholders."
The name change to Discovery, Inc. demonstrates a new focus
on growth in the areas at which Discovery excels, telling stories
across deeply loved genres and empowering superfans to explore
their world wherever and whenever they choose.
The acquisition is expected to be accretive to adjusted earnings
per share and to free cash flow in the first year after closing,
including significant cost synergies. The combination is expected
to create a strong economic model with capacity for rapid debt
repayment and a clear runway for growth and value creation.
Kenneth W. Lowe, former Chairman,
President & CEO of Scripps Networks Interactive, will join
Discovery's board of directors, effective immediately.
Scripps shareholders will receive approximately $90 per share, consisting of $65.82 per share in cash and 1.0584 per share in
Series C Common shares of Discovery stock valued based on a volume
weighted average price (subject to elections and proration), in
each case in accordance with the terms of the merger
agreement. This includes a cash payment of $2.82 per share in connection with Discovery's
previously announced decision to exercise in full the cash top-up
option under the merger agreement.
About Discovery:
Discovery, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA,
DISCB, DISCK) is a global leader in real life entertainment,
serving a passionate audience of superfans around the world with
content that inspires, informs and entertains. Discovery delivers
over 8,000 hours of original programming each year and has category
leadership across deeply loved content genres around the world.
Available in 220 countries and territories and 50 languages,
Discovery is a platform innovator, reaching viewers on all screens,
including TV Everywhere products such as the GO portfolio of apps
and Discovery Kids Play; direct-to-consumer streaming services such
as Eurosport Player and Motor Trend OnDemand; and digital-first and
social content from Group Nine Media. Discovery's portfolio of
premium brands includes Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC,
Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, Turbo/Velocity, Animal
Planet, and Science Channel, as well as OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network
in the U.S., Discovery Kids in Latin
America, and Eurosport, the leading provider of locally
relevant, premium sports and Home of the Olympic Games across
Europe. For more information,
please visit www.corporate.discovery.com and follow
@DiscoveryInc across social platforms.
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SOURCE Discovery, Inc.