Combined images of AT&T CEO John Stankey (L) and WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar.
Reuters
AT&T is in advanced talks to merge WarnerMedia with Discovery to strengthen the combined company against rival media giants Netflix and Disney, according to people familiar with the matter.
A deal could be announced tomorrow, said people who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. The talks are not final and could still fall apart, people said.
AT&T and Discovery declined CNBC’s request for comment.
The likely structure of the deal will link Discovery to WarnerMedia, a new public company jointly owned by AT&T and Discovery shareholders.
The exact division between the two companies could not be determined. Discovery has a market capitalization of $ 16 billion and an enterprise value of $ 30 billion. AT&T acquired Time Warner, since renamed WarnerMedia, for an equity value of $ 85 billion in 2018.
Bloomberg News first covered conversations between AT&T and Discovery about their content.
