Zaslav Flips Warner Plan After $40 Billion in Lost Value (1)

Just three years after arguing that the best way to boost the value of Warner Media and Discovery Inc. was to combine their assets, Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav is now saying that the real key to unlocking their potential worth is to split them apart.

The stock has declined about 60% since that merger was completed in April 2022, wiping out some $40 billion from the company’s market value.

The announcement on Monday will split Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. into two separately traded public companies, one focused on the fast-growing streaming assets and film studios, and the other which ...