Discovery Said to Be in Final Stages of Talks to Acquire Scripps
Discovery is closing in on a bid of around $90 per share, according to one of the people, or about 34
percent higher than where Scripps’s stock was trading before reports about a potential sale emerged.
Discovery, which is led by David Zaslav and backed by the billionaire John C. Malone
and the Newhouse family, has been an active deal maker since the collapse of its last round of talks with Scripps three years ago.
An announcement could come as soon as next week, some of these people said, cautioning that talks could still fall apart.
By EMILY STEEL and MICHAEL J. de la MERCEDJULY 27, 2017
The race for the owner of Food Network and HGTV, Scripps Networks Interactive, has come down to one finalist.
Discovery Communications is in advanced discussions to buy Scripps now
that Viacom is out of the competition, people briefed on the matter said Thursday.
The key to winning over Scripps has been crafting a proposal acceptable to the family, which
still controls about 92 percent of the company’s voting stock, and which votes as a bloc.