Warner Bros. Discovery bids submitted by Paramount, Comcast, Netflix
Warner Bros. Discovery is about to delve into the heart of the decision to sell all or part of itself.
The media conglomerate, home to Warner Bros., HBO and HBO Max, CNN, TBS, HGTV and more, is now evaluating multiple takeover offers. The first round bids, due Thursday (Nov. 20), were expected to be submitted by Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix. A source with knowledge of the situation said these three entities submitted non-binding, preliminary offers before the noon ET deadline. It is unclear whether there were any further expressions of interest.
Multiple sources noted that participants were required to sign non-disclosure agreements during the bidding process, as is customary. Paramount Skydance, Netflix and Comcast declined to comment, as did Warner Bros. Discovery.
Last month, Warner Bros. announced Discovery indicated that it had received inbound M&A interest from “multiple parties” and initiated a process to review offers. The WBD board wants to assess the first offers before Thanksgiving, with the aim of making a decision about the future before the end of 2025.
David Ellison, who just completed the Paramount Skydance deal in August, is known to have submitted bids for WBD in its entirety; in October, the Warner Bros. board rejected Discovery its $23.50 per share offer of 80% cash and 20% stock (which also proposed making David Zaslav co-chairman and co-CEO of the merged company). Paramount Skydance’s offer this week, fully backed by the Ellison family (i.e. wealthy tech mogul Larry Ellison) along with RedBird Capital, was expected to be roughly in line with Ellison’s previous offer of $23.50 per share, according to the Wall Street Journal. reported on Wednesday.
WBD said it will consider proposals in which the Warner Bros. business (HBO Max and studios) is sold separately from Discovery Global, the TV-focused company. This is in line with Warner Bros’ already ongoing plan. Discovery to split into two companies by April 2026, with Zaslav becoming CEO of Warner Bros. and current CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels will become chief executive of Discovery Global.
Netflix and Comcast, which is splitting NBCUniversal in two with the spinoff of cable company Versant by the end of the year, are looking to acquire Warner Bros.’ streaming and studio businesses. – they are not interested in WBD’s cable TV business.
Ellison has argued that Paramount is the best candidate for WBD, and that combining the companies would create a scaled-up media and entertainment powerhouse across streaming, TV and film. The Ellison camp also sees a takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount faces the fewest regulatory hurdles; it’s worth noting that the Ellisons are friends with President Donald Trump, who reportedly favors a merger between Paramount and WBD and has expressed open hostility toward Comcast chief Brian Roberts over MSNBC’s reporting on Trump.
Netflix wants Warner Bros.’ extensive production capabilities and extensive film and TV library. get your hands on. But the prospect of the No. 1 premium streamer also acquiring HBO Max has raised antitrust alarms among some politicians. Meanwhile, sources say Netflix has reassured WBD that it would honor the latter’s theatrical distribution agreements to keep Warner Bros. films in theaters in case the bid is successful.
