Complete Story
07/31/2017
Discovery acquiring Scripps for $14.6B
Discovery Communications has signed an agreement to acquire Scripps Networks Interactive in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $14.6 billion.
The deal, valued at $90 per share, is based on Discovery's July 21 closing price and represents a 34% premium of Scripps' unaffected share price as of July 18, 2017. The companies expect the transaction to close by early 2018.
The combined companies are expecting cost synergies of approximately $350 million.
The combined company will produce approximately 8,000 hours of original programming annually, be home to approximately 300,000 hours of library content, and will generate a combined 7 billion short-form video streams monthly, according to a news release.
Together, Discovery and Scripps will control about 20% of ad-supported pay-TV audiences in the U.S. and will account for more than a 20% share of women watching primetime pay TV in the U.S.
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The new combined network portfolio will include Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, HGTV, Food Network and Travel Channel.
"We believe that by coming together with Scripps, we will create a stronger, more flexible and more dynamic media company with a global content engine that can be fully optimized and monetized across our combined networks, products and services in every country around the world," said David Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery Communications, in a statement
"This agreement with Discovery presents an unmatched opportunity for Scripps to grow its leading lifestyle brands across the world and on new and emerging channels including short-form, direct-to-consumer and streaming platforms," said Kenneth Lowe, chairman, president and CEO of Scripps Networks Interactive, in a statement.
Discovery is hoping the acquisition will help strengthen its existing global female networks by adding select content from Food Network, HGTV and all the Scripps brands.
Lowe plans to join Discovery's board of directors following the close of the transaction.
