NEW YORK (AP) — Just months after announcing plans to split into two companies, Warner Bros. Discovery has signaled that it may be open to a sale of its business.
In an announcement Tuesday, the entertainment giant said it had initiated a review of “strategic alternatives” in light of “unsolicited interest” it had received from multiple parties for both the entire company and Warner Bros specifically.
Warner Bros. Discovery did not specify where that interest was coming from, and a spokesperson said the company couldn’t share additional information when reached by The Associated Press on Tuesday. But its review arrives after growing reports of a potential bidding war — including from Skydance-owned Paramount, which closed its own $8 billion merger in early August.
Citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Paramount approached Warner about a potential majority-cash offer in late September — but that Warner Chief Executive David Zaslav had rebuffed those first overtures. According to the outlet, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison later considered taking a more aggressive approach, such as going directly to shareholders.
CNBC has also reported that Netflix and Comcast are among the interested parties, citing unnamed sources. Comcast declined to comment Tuesday. Paramount and Netflix did not immediately respond to the AP’s requests for statements.
Back in June, Warner Bros. Discovery outlined plans to split its cable and streaming offerings — with HBO, HBO Max, as well as Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, to become part of a new streaming and studios company; while networks like CNN, Discovery and TNT Sports and digital products such as the Discovery+ streaming service and Bleacher Report would make up a separate cable counterpart.
Warner expected the split to be complete by mid-2026 — and said Tuesday that continuing to advance this separation was still among the options it’s now considering.
“We took the bold step of preparing to separate the Company into two distinct, leading media companies, Warner Bros. and Discovery Global, because we strongly believed this was the best path forward,” Zaslav said in a statement. Still, he added, “it’s no surprise that the significant value of our portfolio is receiving increased recognition by others in the market.”
The company said that there’s no definite timeline for its review process — and noted that, beyond the separation that is already underway, “there can be no assurance” that the process will result in a transaction.
Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, headquartered in New York, jumped more than 9% Tuesday morning.
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