Paramount Skydance is mulling its next move after having its acquisition offer for Warner Bros. Discovery rebuffed for a second time in a span of days.
Multiple sources familiar with the ongoing WBD talks tell Deadline that the latest bid came in at $24 a share, sweeter than the initial offer of $20 a bit more than a week ago.
A rep from Paramount Skydance declined comment Tuesday when asked about the latest bid or prospects for a third one. A WBD spokesperson also would not comment.
Media earnings season has begun. With WBD and Paramount both slated to report quarterly results in the next two to three weeks, there’s hope that executives at both companies and more will offer some commentary on the M&A landscape during calls with Wall Streeters after the numbers. Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters did not shy away from the topic after the streamer reported earnings earlier today.
The rejection of Paramount’s second bid, initially reported by the New York Post, was followed by a market-moving declaration today by WBD, the company’s first confirmation that it is indeed for sale. The company said it’s initiated a strategic review process in light of “unsolicited interest” from “multiple parties.”
The exact scope of a deal remains unclear and WBD is still planning to move towards a split next year, separating studios and streaming from linear television, with the resultant stand-alone companies to be called, respectively, Warner Bros. and Discovery Global. WBD said today that the expressions of interest were for WBD in its entirely and for Warner Bros.
There’s been rampant speculation about others kicking the tires, like Comcast, Netflix and Amazon, but Wall Streeters generally expect David Ellison’s Paramount to prevail given his family’s deep pockets and solid relationship with Donald Trump.
Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters has called a bid for WBD unlikely. Comcast, parent of MSNBC, would face formidable antitrust hurdles in Washington.
One thing seems clear amid all of the movement: the cost of scooping up WBD has risen sharply since Ellison and his team first embarked on their next M&A quest with the ink barely dry on their August 7 close of Paramount-Skydance. Warners’ once bargain basement stock price has doubled since then, with shares hitting a three-year high Tuesday, rising 11%.
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