Silver Spring, Md. - Discovery Communications, the media company behind such cable TV channels as The Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet, said that it will buy out Cox Communications' 25% stake in the company for $1.27 billion in cash.

Cox also will take ownership of Discovery's Travel Channel, Travelchannel.com and Antenna Audio, bringing the total value of the deal to as much as $3 billion, according to some analysts.

"This proposed transaction will simplify Discovery's ownership structure, further streamline our operations and give the company more strategic flexibility," said David Zaslav, Discovery's president and CEO.

The deal is expected to close in mid-May, when Discovery Holding will own a two-thirds stake in the company, with Advance/Newhouse Communications owning the remaining third.

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