Paramount Diaing Working with an investment bank because it is prepared for prepared Warner Bros. Discoveryfor people who are familiar with the matter.
Warner Bros. Discovery, according to people who were familiar with the matter, did not yet have a offer to discuss public businesses about the condition of anonymity. An offer could come the next week, David Faber from CNBC reported on Thursday.
The stocks of Warner Bros. Discovery rose on Thursday after a first report from more than 25% The Wall Street Journal that they recently merged Paramount Diaing prepared a takeover offer.
Representatives of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery rejected a statement.
Paramount Skydance’s shares rose by about 8%in the afternoon trade.
Warner Bros. Discovery recently announced Plans to separate his global television station business from his streaming business and studios. The journal reported on Thursday that Paramount Skydance’s offer would be an all-cash offer for the entire WBD.
At the beginning of this week, the WBD CEO David Zaslav said at an investor conference that the planned separation would probably be completed by April. The streaming and studio assets would be renamed Warner Bros., while the Global TV Networks Business -will be a series of Pay TV networks, including TNT and CNN, has, discovery will be global.
While WBD executives announced in June that every company was “free and clear” to do business after the division, one of the people should be an offer before the separation.
Media movements
David Ellison, CEO from Skydance Media, will take part in the 81st annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hilton on January 7, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.
Kevin Winter | The Hollywood reporter | Getty pictures
The media industry navigated in a transformation because streaming increased the Pay -TV bundle, a long -time cash cow for television and entertainment companies.
A merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery would create a media conversation with a huge portfolio of Pay -TV networks, a spacious selection of sports rights and two major film studios.
Paramount Skydance has the Broadcast Network CBS and PAY TV networks such as Bet, MTV and Nickelodeon as well as streaming service Paramount+. The film studio is known for films such as “The Godfather”, “Top Gun” and “Forrest Gump”.
With the exception of a Broadcast -TV network, WBD has similar assets -with networks such as CNN and TNT as well as HBO and streaming service HBO Max. The Warner Bros. Film Studio also has a historical success balance and has intellectual property for franchise companies such as “Harry Potter”, DC Comics and “The Lord of the Rings”.
Both companies also have a long list of the most important sports rights, the delicate content for all traditional television and streaming platforms. A merger would bring the NFL, MLB, a number of college football and basketball and other big sports under one roof.
Have media managers and experts expected Consolidation could come to the industry.
For some time now, Zaslav has said publicly that media companies have to consolidate. During a win in November shortly afterwards Donald Trump When President was elected, Zaslav said that a new government could initiate more dealmaking.
In the past few months, however, some media companies have turned to the separation. At the end of last year, Comcast announced that his NBCuniversal split off The Pay TV networks, which include CNBC and MSNBC, in a separate, listed company. Months later, WBD announced that it would take the same step.
Paramount Skydance is the result of an 8 -billion dollar fusion that was announced last year and receive Regulatory approval in August, after lengthy delay.
The Federal Communications Commission released the way for the merger weeks after the agreement of Paramount, Trump to pay 16 million US dollars to have submitted a lawsuit against the company about the processing of an interview about CBS ’60 minutes “with the former Vice President Kamala Harris.
At the time of the approval of deal, FCC chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement that he “commitment of Skydance to make significant changes in the once famous CBS radio network”.
The company wants to reduce the costs of more than 2 billion US dollars and the layoffs are expected to continue. Paramount Skydance A broadcast last week memo To his employees that they return to the office five days a week in the new year or seek a buyout.
Since the end of the merger, the company has under the leadership of David Ellison, the son of oracle Founder and multibillionaire Larry Ellison. These included the company to acquire the US rights on the US rights Who group ‘S UFC for seven years, from 2026.
Larry Ellison was on Wednesday more than 100 billion US dollars richer After the software company Oracle published growth forecasts that dramatically lifted the company’s shares.
Disclosure: ComCast is the parent company of NBCUNIERSAL and CNBC.
