Warner Bros Discovery Shares Are Surging Thursday As CEO Considers Asset Sales, Spinoff
Warner Bros Discovery Shares Are Surging Thursday As CEO Considers Asset Sales, Spinoff
Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:WBD) shares are trading higher after reports of a significant restructuring that could separate its digital streaming and studio businesses from its traditional television networks.
華納兄弟探索公司（納斯達克股票代碼：WBD）股價走高，此前有報道稱一項重大重組可能會將其數字流媒體和演播室業務與傳統電視網絡分開。
What Happened: The David Zaslav-led entertainment company looks to bolster its struggling share price and manage its substantial debt load of $39 billion.
發生了什麼：這家由大衛·扎斯拉夫領導的娛樂公司希望提振其陷入困境的股價並管理其390億美元的巨額債務。
According to the Financial Times, Zaslav — who, as CEO, enjoyed a 27% increase in pay for 2023 and angered fans by canceling movies already in post-production — is eager to sell assets.
據《金融時報》報道，作爲首席執行官的扎斯拉夫渴望出售資產，他在2023年的薪酬增長了27％，並取消了已經在後期製作中的電影，激怒了影迷。
A spin-off Warner Bros. studio and the Max streaming service into a new company is also being discussed. This company would be largely free of the group's current debt.
還正在討論將華納兄弟工作室和Max流媒體服務分拆爲一家新公司。這家公司將在很大程度上擺脫該集團的當前債務。
The media giant has not yet hired an investment bank to advise the process.
這家媒體巨頭尚未聘請投資銀行來爲這一過程提供建議。
Also, informal talks with advisors to rival media companies have taken place to gauge interest in potential mergers and acquisitions.
此外，還與競爭對手媒體公司的顧問進行了非正式會談，以評估對潛在合併和收購的興趣。
Previous considerations included combinations with Comcast Corp's (NASDAQ:CMCSA) NBCUniversal and Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA), the latter of which has recently merged with David Ellison's Skydance.
先前的考慮因素包括與康卡斯特公司（納斯達克股票代碼：CMCSA）NBCUniversal和派拉蒙環球（納斯達克股票代碼：PARA）的合併，後者最近與大衛·埃裏森的Skydance合併。
Why It Matters: A company split could have severe repercussions for bondholders, Bank of America analysts say.
爲何重要：美國銀行分析師表示，公司拆分可能會對債券持有人產生嚴重影響。
A similar move by rival Lionsgate led to a creditor revolt.
競爭對手獅門影業的類似舉動引發了債權人的反感。
A strategic spin-off could leave the more mature television assets with the bulk of the debt, while the growing streaming and studio business would have greater financial flexibility.
戰略分拆可能會使較成熟的電視資產承擔大部分債務，而不斷增長的流媒體和演播室業務將具有更大的財務靈活性。
WBD's shares have plummeted nearly 70% since AT&T Inc (NYSE:T) spun off Warner Bros and merged it with Discovery two years ago.
自兩年前AT＆T公司（紐約證券交易所代碼：T）分拆華納兄弟並將其與Discovery合併以來，WBD的股價已經暴跌了近70％。
The company has faced declining advertising revenue, high streaming development costs, the COVID-19 pandemic, Hollywood strikes, and costly failures.
該公司面臨着廣告收入下降、高昂的流媒體開發成本、COVID-19 疫情、好萊塢罷工和代價高昂的失敗。
Despite cost-cutting measures and debt repayments, the stock dropped 10% in February.
儘管採取了削減成本的措施並償還了債務，但該股在2月份仍下跌了10％。
BofA analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich recently suggested that WBD's current structure is ineffective and recommended exploring asset sales, restructuring, and mergers.
美國銀行分析師傑西卡·裏夫·埃利希最近表示，WBD目前的結構無效，並建議探索資產出售、重組和合並。
Warner Bros stock has lost over 34% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock via Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC) and Vanguard Communication Services ETF (NYSE:VOX).
在過去的12個月中，華納兄弟的股票下跌了34％以上。投資者可以通過通信服務精選板塊SPDR基金（紐約證券交易所代碼：XLC）和Vanguard Communication Services ETF（紐約證券交易所代碼：VOX）獲得股票敞口。
Price Action: WBD shares are trading higher by 7.45% at $8.950 in premarket at last check Thursday.
價格走勢：週四最後一次盤前檢查時，WBD股價上漲7.45％，至8.950美元。