President and CEO Discovery Communications David Zaslav (2015)
Discovery Communications, Inc. and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. announced that they have signed a definitive agreement for Discovery to acquire Scripps in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $14.6 billion, or $90 per share, based on Discovery's Friday, July 21 closing price.
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, demonstrating its commitment to delivering content as a top short-form provider.
The purchase price represents a premium of 34% to Scripps' unaffected share price as of Tuesday, July 18, 2017. The transaction is expected to close by early 2018.
"This is an exciting new chapter for Discovery. Scripps is one of the best run media companies in the world with terrific assets, strong brands and popular talent and formats. Our business is about great storytelling, authentic characters and passionate super fans. 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, Discovery Communications.
"Through the passion and dedication of our incredible employees, and with the support of the Scripps family, we have built a lifestyle content company that touches the lives of consumers every single day," said Kenneth W. Lowe, Chairman, President & CEO, Scripps Networks Interactive. "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."
