Discovery Channel will have more than the sharks of its famous programming block to watch out for as the network’s parent company announced plans to take the company public. It follows an agreement between the two largest shareholders in Discovery Communications, John Malone’s Discovery Holding Co and Advance/Newhouse Communications. The company expects to commence trading on the New York Stock Exchange in the second quarter of 2008.
In a statement, John Hendricks, who founded Discovery Channel In 1985 said: “I believe that the company is now ideally poised to take advantage of the opportunities that may emerge from the new Discovery corporate structure announced today and I look forward to continuing to work alongside my great long-time partners as Discovery begins this next exciting chapter of our advancement in the global marketplace.
Publicly quoted Discovery Holding represents 49% of Discovery Communications and also own technical facilities company Ascent Media Group. The company structure has been simplified in recent months following Discovery Communications’ of the stake previously held by cable group Cox.
Discovery runs 100 networks in 173 countries and claims a global audience of 1.5 billion.
