Nine days after rejecting a takeover offer from David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance, Warner Bros. Discovery said it would consider sales offers even as it moves toward a split into two separate companies.
The media giant announced Tuesday that it was broadening its strategic review of the company after receiving “unsolicited interest from multiple parties” in both the overall company and Warner Bros.
“After receiving interest from multiple parties, we initiated a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives to identify the best path forward to unlock the full value of our assets,” said David Zaslav, Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, in a press release.
Paramount previously offered “around” $20 per share to HBO/HBO Max parent Warner Bros. Entertainment, CNN, TNT, TBS and more. Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery jumped 8% in premarket trading Tuesday following the announcement, to sit just below the $20 mark.
CNBC reported Tuesday that Comcast and Netflix have also expressed interest in all or part of WBD.
Warner Bros. recently announced plans to split into two companies, one would focus on its global television networks, the other on streaming and studios. Work on this separation, which is expected to be completed by mid-2026, will continue.
“We continue to make important strides to position our company for success in today’s evolving media landscape by advancing our strategic initiatives, returning our studios to industry leadership, and growing HBO Max globally,” Zaslav said. “We made the bold decision to prepare to separate the company into two separate, leading media companies, Warner Bros. and Discovery Global, because we believed it was the best path forward.”
Tuesday’s announcement follows comments Zaslav made last month in which he affirmed his optimistic view of the company’s future, saying HBO Max would be in 150 million homes by next year and calling the streaming service undervalued.
“The fact that it’s about quality – and that’s true across our entire business, across the quality of film, TV production and streaming – we all think that gives us a chance to raise prices,” he said. “We think we’re way undervalued. We’re going to take our time.”
If Paramount makes another offer for Warner that is accepted by the company, it would be something of a full circle. Last year, Warner Bros. nearly bought Paramount, but the two companies could not reach a financial agreement on the deal.
