Warner Bros Discovery said it would launch a strategic review as chief executive David Zaslav seeks to fend off a potential takeover from billionaire David Ellison, fresh from his acquisition of Paramount.
In a move that could determine the fate of the company behind HBO, CNN and the Warner Bros studio, the board will evaluate a “broad range of options” – including a previously announced plan to split the company next year, or a full sale.
The review follows interest from Ellison – the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison – who has in recent weeks explored a bid for Warner, only months after completing his takeover of Paramount.
Zaslav said on Tuesday: “After receiving interest from multiple parties, we have initiated a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives to identify the best path forward.”
RM Block
Shares in WBD jumped as much as 10 per cent on Tuesday. The stock has climbed from $12 a share to about $20 since initial reports of Paramount’s interest last month.
Hollywood executives at rival groups, including streamers, have been holding informal conversations about picking off Warner assets that fit their portfolios, according to people familiar with the matter.
However, in recent weeks senior executives at Netflix and Apple have publicly talked down the prospect of a Warner bid.
Apple executive Eddy Cue told Puck News: “I never say no to anything, but we’re not actively looking at buying any company of any size.”
Netflix co-chief executive Greg Peters told a Bloomberg conference the streamer was a “builder rather than buyer” and emphasised “scepticism around big media mergers”.
The most credible buyer of Warner is Paramount, which benefits from the financial backing of Larry Ellison, one of the world’s wealthiest people, and the ambition of his son who wants to modernise Hollywood.
However, Zaslav, who has been one of the best-paid chief executives in corporate America in recent years, is opposed to selling to Paramount, as it would end his tenure atop a media company.
Zaslav is said to prefer splitting the company, which Warner announced earlier this year, in a move that aimed to unshackle its faster-growing streaming and studios business from its legacy television channels.
The break-up into two publicly traded companies was set to be completed by mid 2026. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
