Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix submitted first‑round takeover offers for Warner Bros. Discovery ahead of this week’s deadline, with Paramount weighing a higher bid after WBD rejected its prior $23.50-per-share all‑assets proposal while Comcast and Netflix are understood to have bid solely for the Warner Bros. studio and HBO Max streaming assets. Details on price and structure remain unclear; Paramount’s David Ellison has held preliminary talks with Saudi sovereign funds although he and Larry Ellison could fully finance a deal, and Netflix’s bid was described as disciplined. WBD, which is conducting a strategic review while planning to split into a Warner Bros. studio/streaming unit and a Discovery Global pay-TV business, aims to wrap the sale process by mid‑to‑late December, and its shares have risen about 20% since the sale announcement (around $23.40, up ~2% Friday); if Comcast acquires the studio/streaming assets, Discovery Global would proceed with a spinoff and CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels would become CEO.
Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix formally submitted first‑round takeover offers for Warner Bros. Discovery this week ahead of the deadline, with Comcast and Netflix understood to have bid solely for Warner Bros. studio and HBO Max while Paramount had previously offered $23.50 per share for the whole company (an offer WBD rejected); the size and structure of the current offers were not disclosed and Netflix’s bid was described as “disciplined.” Warner Bros. Discovery has expanded a strategic review to include a potential sale while continuing a planned split into Warner Bros. (studio and streaming) and Discovery Global (pay‑TV networks); management aims to complete the sale process by mid‑to‑late December and another round of bids is expected. WBD shares traded roughly $23.40, up about 2% on Friday and more than 20% since the sale announcement, reflecting market anticipation of a takeover premium but limited public price discovery to date. Paramount’s suitors’ financing posture matters: David Ellison has held preliminary talks with Saudi sovereign funds but the Ellisons are prepared to finance a deal, and if Comcast wins the studio/streaming assets Discovery Global would proceed with a spinout and CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels would become CEO. The lack of disclosed bid terms implies continued process risk and potential stock volatility until bidders’ structure, price and board response are clarified.
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