Discovery Boosts Stake In OWN, Oprah Winfrey Takes Stock In Longtime Partner

deadline.com:

Discovery has upped its stake in OWN to 95% with the network’s founder and namesake Oprah Winfrey receiving $35 million worth of Discovery stock in exchange, according to an SEC filing Tuesday.Discovery and Winfrey launched OWN in 2008 and the David Zaslav-led media company has periodically raised its stake in the joint venture.

It stood at 73% before this latest transaction, which was the first where Winfrey opted to take Discovery stock instead of cash, according to a person familiar with the situation.Winfrey’s new stake through her wholly Harpo Inc. – a total of about 1.34 million shares — is less than 1% of Discovery’s outstanding Class A stock.Harpo, which retained 5% of OWN, also registered to sell 670,000 of the Discovery shares.