Three years after its formation through a merger, Warner Bros. Discovery is splitting up, and its CFO is stepping into his first CEO role. The media and entertainment giant announced on Monday that it will separate into two publicly traded companies through a tax-free transaction.

Monday's news that Warner Bros. Discovery is splitting into two companies has fueled chatter about which execs will end up leading the new entities.

At the end of March, Warner Bros. Discovery had gross debt of $38.0 billion, which is comprised of “total debt” ($37.4 billion) and financial leases ($535 million). The 2022 merger of WarnerMedia (owned by AT&T) and Discovery, Inc. created more than $50 billion of debt.