Discovery Buys $500M In Stock from Newhouse

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Discovery Communications says it is buying nearly
$500 million worth of Discovery preferred stock from Advance/Newhouse
Programming Partnership.

Despite the sale, Advance/Newhouse will remain
Discovery's largest shareholder with a stake of about 31%.

Discovery said the purchase is not part of the $1
billion stock repurchase program.

"Our investment in Discovery remains one of the finest moments in the
history of our company and we expect it will only become more successful as
Discovery continues to grow and flourish," said Donald E. Newhouse, president
of Advance Publications, in a statement. "We have no plan to further
reduce our ownership. Our goal is to take a small percentage of our investment
in Discovery and diversify into new acquisitions and investments that will
hopefully turn out to be as meaningful."

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.