Condé Nast Owners to Sell $1.1 Billion in Warner Bros. Discovery Stock

The Newhouse family is largely divesting their ownership in Warner Bros. Discovery, marking the end of a long-standing collaboration that has lasted for many years.

On Tuesday, the family that controls Condé Nast, the major magazine publishing conglomerate, and has significant interests in Charter Communications, Reddit, Ironman, and TurnItIn, disclosed in a securities document their intention to sell 100 million shares of their company at $10.97 per share through their Advance holding company. This transaction is expected to bring in approximately $1.1 billion.

The sale aims to offer financial adaptability to facilitate the continuous estate planning and investment strategies of the concerned parties, as well as various corporate objectives, the document states. Shares of WBD ended trading on Monday at a peak of $11.46 for the past half year.

On June 30th, the Newhouses completed a block sale of shares in the company. Since then, they have retained ownership of over 98 million shares. This sale, however, brings their shareholding below the 5% threshold set by the SEC, meaning that they are no longer obligated to publicly report their holdings. This new status allows them discretion to sell their shares whenever they choose without facing increased regulatory oversight.

The Newhouse clan initially invested in Discovery Communications, later becoming the largest shareholders when Discovery merged with WarnerMedia. This merger gave them over 8% ownership in the resulting company. Additionally, Steven Newhouse and Steve Miron served on the board of WBD, but recently stepped down following queries from the U.S. Department of Justice about a Clayton Act investigation.

At a pivotal time when Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is dividing into two separate entities, the Newhouse family’s sale arrives. One half will consist of HBO, HBO Max, and the Warner Bros. film and TV studios, which will be spearheaded by CEO David Zaslav as a combined studios and streaming enterprise. The other half will encompass the traditional WarnerMedia and Discovery cable networks, overseen by Gunnar Weidenfels as a global networks business.

After the separation, the existing WBD shareholders (likely including the Newhouses) will be granted shares in both companies when the process becomes effective starting from next year.

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2025-07-01 16:24