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WBD’s David Zaslav, Gunnar Wiedenfels Break Down Split That Will See Standalone Companies “Free And Clear” For M&A
Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav and CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels laid out plans for the company's planned split. The stock bounced around on the news.
“Now we are focused on the next phase of transformation,” said Zaslav as the two hopped on a call with analysts to discuss how the split – anticipated to close by mid-2026 — will proceed, first ticking off steps in a complex integration they say they’ve achieved in order to get to this point. That includes retooling HBO and expanding it internationally; cutting $5 billion in non-content costs; and imposing greater discipline on the film studio, which has been having a great run recently under Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy. Global Networks will also retain a nice nest egg in the form of a 20% stake in Streaming & Studios “that it will plan to monetize in a tax-efficient manner to enhance the de-leveraging of its balance sheet” – meaning it can cash in that holding when it needs to.
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