New York | AT&T is preparing to spin off its media business and merge it with Discovery in a tax-friendly deal, according to people with knowledge of the matter, a surprise reversal for a company that spent $US85 billion to acquire the assets less than three years ago.

A deal could be announced as soon as this week, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information was private. The transaction will be structured as a so-called Reverse Morris Trust, or a merger with another company that’s structured to be tax-free, one of them said.

Bloomberg