Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) require close consideration of motives, target choice, rationales, and management of the integration. Answer the following questions using illustrations from the Warner Bros Discovery merger:

a. Identify and discuss the various motives that are driving this merger. (6 marks)

b. Introduce the two main criteria for target choice in M&As and discuss their relative importance to this merger. (4 marks)

c. Use the typology of the Corporate Rationales to identify and briefly discuss the rationale behind the corporate parenting of the streaming businesses HBO Max and Discovery Plus. (2 marks)

d. Use the framework on managing integration in M&As to identify and discuss the approach(es) to integration being used in the Warner Bros Discovery merger. (4 marks)

rrrhcrdever'oprrrerm lial-rt The (Error-dish) Media watchers were waiting to see how the new media powerhouse would reshape its business In August 2(122 a plan started to emerge. The studio announced it would permanently shelve an alreadyshot Batgirl movie to with an estimated $90m loss, a puzzling move said to be part ofa larger shift in the company away from streaming, HED Max subscribers then noticed that a handtl ofthe original films produced for the platform had been quietly removed. Rumours of staff layoffs and series cancelalions swirled until the bomb was finally dropped by 1r'Ir'arnert'IIIIiscovery's CED, David Zaslav: in 2U23. HED Max and Discovery Plus would be combined into a single entity. The decision to demolish the H30 Max brand and start over comes as a shock to industry observers who have watched as 1tl'r'anrer went all in on streaming during the pandernic's housebound early days. The company caused a stir with "Project Popcorn\". a business model under which they released their 2U21 slate offilms to HBD lvlax on the same day they hit theatres. Upwards ofa dozen big-ticket titles materialized in America's living rooms free ofadditional charge. However, it is difficult to get people to pay in cinema theatres for what they already have at home. Hopeful earners Dune and The Matrix: Resurrections underperformed at the box office. and time had come for a course ccnection. Zaslav pushed the headline oflhe return to theatrical release. "We will fully embrace theatrical,\" he declared. laying out a development slate with a lessened emphasis on straight to-strearning productions. Anyone dedicated to the cause of cinema can see reason to rejoice in a renewed commitment to the theatrical experience. But Warner is far from the first studio to step out with the daring strategy of releasing only good movies instead ofbad ones. One slideshow circulated as a meme on social media It broke down the appeal of HBO ivlax as contrasted with Discovery Plus Whereas HBD Max is "male skew". \"lean in\" and "home of fans\"; Discovery Plus is \"female skew\". \"lean back" and \"home ofgenres". The reasoning that "HBO equals Game of'l1trones. which dudes like\" versus \"Discovery Plus equals Property Brothers. beloved ofwomen\" betrays a major misunderstanding ofthe broader potential for these services, which could be hubs for a wider sampling ofmaterial catering to many tastes. HBD Max's subscriber base surpasses that of Discovery Plus by a margin in the dozens of millions. II was a success on the sole basis of bringing good entertainment to the people. The mad fusion ofHED Max with Discovery Plus home ofthe Food Network. and other reality TV stalwarts runs the risk of losing the exploratory spirit that created fan-beloved series Sartre are happy, some are not {from The Fargo and Deadline} By late 2012, media commentators closely followed the merger and its leadership. Several writers expressed their frustration with some of the changes. 1r'lr'anrer Bros Discovery CEO David Iaslav receives an executive compensation package that includes a salary of 53 million with an annual $22 million bonus and stock options valued at SIQt't million. making him one ofthe highest-paid entertainment executives in the world.