Hollywood Shake-Up: Paramount Prepares to Bid to Acquire Warner Bros.
Paramount Skydance, now backed by the Ellison family, is getting ready to make a major move in Hollywood.
According to people familiar with the matter, the company is preparing a mostly cash offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. The bid would cover the whole company, including its movie studio and its cable networks.
Warner Bros. Discovery said late last year it planned to split itself into two separate divisions. One division would handle the older cable TV business, while the other would focus on streaming and studio operations.
By stepping in now, Paramount Skydance wants to make its offer before that split happens. People close to the talks say this could also stop big technology companies such as Amazon and Apple from jumping in with competing bids.
If the deal goes through, it would bring together two of the most famous studios in Hollywood. Warner Bros. is home to Barbie, the Harry Potter films, DC Comics, and hit shows like The White Lotus. It also owns cable networks like CNN, TBS, and TNT. Paramount Skydance controls Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, and its own movie studio, along with the Paramount+ streaming service.
The possible deal is no small bet. Warner Bros. Discovery’s market value is nearly $33 billion, which is more than double Paramount Skydance’s. For that reason, analysts say the size of this takeover could raise antitrust and regulatory concerns.
Investors reacted fast to the news. Warner Bros. Discovery shares jumped almost 35 percent on Wednesday afternoon after The Wall Street Journal first reported the potential offer. Paramount Skydance shares also gained about 6 percent.
David Ellison, who runs Skydance, recently completed a merger with Paramount. Ellison is the son of billionaire Larry Ellison, who is backing the effort. People familiar with the plans stress that Paramount Skydance hasn’t submitted a formal offer yet, and the whole plan could still fall apart.
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