(Reuters) – Warner Bros. Discovery said on Monday it plans to add General Atlantic’s Anton Levy as an independent director to its board.
Shares of the company rose over 1% after the bell.
Levy, currently serving as an advisory director at General Atlantic, was earlier its co-president and has led the private-equity firm’s investments in companies such as Airbnb and Uber.
Following Levy’s appointment, the size of WBD’s board will increase to 14 members. In January, the company added Anthony Noto, CEO of fintech giant SoFi, and Joey Levin, the outgoing chief executive of IAC, to its board.
WBD’s board expansion came after pressure from hedge fund Sessa Capital, which built nearly a 1% stake in the company, according to the Wall Street Journal, which reported the development earlier. The board identified Levy on its own.
The media giant is undergoing a restructuring to separate its declining cable TV businesses, such as CNN, from streaming and studio operations, setting the stage for a potential sale or spinoff of its TV business, as more cable subscribers cut the cord.
The split will allow WBD to take advantage of “broader market opportunities” as they arise, CEO David Zaslav told analysts during a post-earnings call in February.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Alan Barona)
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