Warner Bros. Discovery: Potential Bidders Emerge for 2026 Split
Warner Bros. Discovery announced in a press release on Tuesday it is entertaining bidders for both the entire company and for the two separate companies that would exist following its planned split in 2026. While WBD is hoping to ignite an expensive bidding war for the company, some of its potential suitors have signaled they may not be interested.
The press release followed a Wall Street Journal report last month that Paramount made a cash offer to WBD ahead of its spin-off. The $20 per share offer was rebuffed by WBD CEO David Zaslav.
“While Warner Bros. Discovery continues to advance its previously announced separation of Warner Bros. and Discovery Global, its Board of Directors today announced it has initiated a review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value, in light of unsolicited interest the company has received from multiple parties for both the entire company and Warner Bros,” the release said.
PUCK previously reported WBD was hoping for a stock sale price exponentially higher than the Paramount offer.
Matthew Belloni reported last week Paramount was pushing ahead with a purchase of WBD, noted by the hiring of Makan Delrahim as its chief legal officer on Oct. 6. Delrahim served in the anti-trust division of the Department of Justice in the Bush administration in the 2000s. He became a lobbyist after, working for Comcast, UFC, Google, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Johnson and Johnson. Belloni said his hiring was to pave way for a purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery and to fight off other potential buyers and anti-trust concerns by the Department of Justice.
While leading the Department of Justice’s anti-trust division during the first Trump administration, he filed a lawsuit to stop a merger of Time Warner with AT&T, but lost in federal court. He allowed the sale of FOX to Disney.
Delrahim, in several interviews, said monopolies were only illegal if they acted in a monopolistic manner. He also held the position that mergers could lead to more competition in the market, an argument he’ll likely make to the DOJ and the Securities and Exchange Commission as Paramount tries to position itself with purchases to compete as a major streamer alongside Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Paramount immediately made overtures for WBD following its merger with Skydance, owned by Larry and David Ellison. Paramount signed a new deal with UFC for seven years and $7.7 billion shortly after the purchase, worth nearly the same price paid for Paramount.
Netflix and Amazon may sit out a potential bidding war for WBD. Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters told Variety earlier this month that “big mergers don’t have an amazing track record,” citing other Time Warner mergers with AT&T and AOL. But CNBC reported on Tuesday that Netflix was in play for WBD, citing unnamed sources.
Amazon’s recent purchase of MGM and the Bond franchise has left it less willing to investigate a WBD buy, but Prime has expressed interest in WBD before, particularly its TNT Sports production studio. Amazon Prime’s production of NFL and MLB games has been heavily criticized since the network began airing football on Thursday nights as part of a deal with the league. After its debt-heavy acquisition of MGM, Amazon would likely be uninterested in paying billions for WBD.
Apple executive Eddy Cue said on Belloni’s podcast that the company isn’t likely or looking to make significant purchases.
Comcast, which is in the middle of its own split, would be a favored spot by Zaslav and WBD board chair John Malone due to their positioning in a new company, one source told SEScoops. A Comcast and WBD merger would only occur after Comcast finishes spinning off its cable networks under the Versant name and WBD spins off its digital assets. It would also leave Zaslav and Malone in top positions, which would be highly unlikely if Paramount purchases. Belloni reported that Zaslav and Malone would have to maneuver the WBD board if Paramount continues as a highly motivated and potentially hostile player in a bidding war. Comcast would also have to improve its heavily leveraged position – it needs more money.
Sony studios has showed interest in a WBD purchase or merger, which SEScoops reported in June. The two companies worked together before and planned a joint studio complex in Nevada, but the plan fell apart after the state legislature failed to provide tax incentives. The positioning of more heavy buyers would make a Sony purchase difficult.
WBD’s spin-off is expected to finish by mid-2026.
