- Bid for Warner Bros Discovery likely
- Deal would include cable networks and movie studio
- Paramount Skydance shares gained 15%
Shares in media giant Warner Bros Discovery (WBD: NASDAQ) surged nearly 30% on Thursday (11 September) on reports that rival Paramount Skydance (PSKY:NASDAQ) is preparing an offer to buy the rival studio.
The offer which will be a ‘majority cash bid’ for Warner Bros Discovery’s cable networks and movie studio and will be run by David Ellison, son of Oracle (ORCL:NYSE) chairman Larry Ellison, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal.
Shares in Paramount Skydance skyrocketed 15% on Thursday (11 September) on the news.
Earlier in the week, David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros Discovery, told an investor conference that the planned separation would likely be completed by April next year.
The streaming and studio assets would be renamed Warner Bros., while the global TV networks business - which will own a suite of pay TV networks including TNT and CNN - will be Discovery Global.
The potential bid may come as soon as next week (week beginning 15 September), according to CNBC.
A NEW CHAPTER
Last July, Paramount Global agreed a $28 billion merger with the Californian-based film and TV production company Skydance Media after months of on-off talks.
Other suitors for the business included Sony Group (6758:TYO) and Apollo Global Management (APO:NYSE).
Analysts said the potential offer from Paramount Skydance is likely to mark the ‘beginning of a bidding war’ for Warner Bros Discovery, one which might prove a protracted and complicated affair.
