Sky picks up all of Discovery NZ Limited’s shares
With MinterEllisonRuddWatts’ help, Warner Bros. Discovery has sold its New Zealand subsidiary Discovery NZ Limited to Sky Network Television Limited.
Sky picks up all of Discovery NZ’s shares in the acquisition, which is set to complete on 1 August. The deal also involves an ongoing content supply agreement.
Discovery NZ runs the broadcast-video-on-demand platform ThreeNow, free-to-air channel Three, and a suite of FAST channels.
“This is a fantastic outcome for both Warner Bros. Discovery and Sky. While Discovery NZ is no longer commercially viable as a standalone asset in our New Zealand portfolio, we see the value Three and ThreeNow can bring to Sky’s offering. The transaction includes a content supply agreement that benefits both parties”, said Michael Brooks, Warner Bros. Discovery’s managing director Australia and New Zealand.
A MinterEllisonTuddWatts team led by corporate partner Mark Forman assisted Warner Bros. Discovery with all legal aspects of the deal, such as deal structuring, negotiation of the share sale agreement, transitional services arrangements, employment aspects, content supply arrangements and regulatory engagement. Forman worked alongside Tayla Johnston, James Marriner, Nick Stewart, Caitlin Reid, Jennifer Hambleton, Gillian Service, Joshua Kimpton, Simon Akozu, Andrew Ryan, Chris Young, Briar Richardson, David Gilbert, Tom Maasland, Sean Gollin, and Kate Lane.
