Discovery Completes Sale of Travel Channel to Cox
By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/14/2007 12:18:00 PM
As reported in B&C, Cox Communications and Discovery Holding Company have finalized a deal that will see Cox give up their 25% stake in Discovery Communications in exchange for Travel Media, which includes the Travel Channel, TravelChannel.com, as well as approximately $1.3 billion.
“We are excited to finalize the deal and to convert our ownership position in Discovery to such a strong operating asset as Travel Channel,” said Cox Communications President Pat Esser. “Throughout our due diligence, we have gotten to know Pat Younge and his team at Travel Channel very well. We’re impressed with their operations expertise and strategic vision for the business and look forward to working with them closely as they continue building its impressive ratings and content. This is a strong network for video distributors and a popular one among viewers, and we’re committed to continuing and enhancing its value.”
With the completion of the deal, Discovery Holding Company now owns two thirds of Discovery Communications, with the remaining third belonging to Advance/Newhouse Communications. The deal is not expected to affect the governance rights of Discovery Holding or Advance/Newhouse as any matters requiring action by the two companies would require an 80% vote.
Antenna Audio was going to go to Cox as part of the original agreement, but both sides decided to nix their inclusion in the deal, it will remain with Discovery.
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