Warner Bros. Discovery has asked prospective buyers to submit higher, second-round bids for all or part of the company by December 1, accelerating a sale process that could reshape the global media business. The deadline, confirmed in a new report, follows initial nonbinding offers from Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix earlier in November.
People familiar with the talks say the company aims to use the new round to narrow the field and potentially move into exclusive negotiations with one bidder afterward. Paramount, backed by Larry Ellison, is seeking to acquire the entire group, including its cable networks, film and TV studios and streaming platform Max. Comcast and Netflix have focused more on studio and streaming assets, with less appetite for the legacy cable portfolio that includes TNT, TBS and other linear channels.
The process runs alongside a strategic review announced in October, in which the board is weighing options ranging from a full sale to separate transactions for the Warner Bros. studio and Discovery Global units, or a planned split into two publicly traded companies that would separate growth businesses from declining cable operations.
On the company’s most recent earnings call, CEO David Zaslav told investors there was “an active process underway,” while stressing that there was no fixed deadline for a transaction and that management would proceed only if a deal delivered clear value to shareholders. Warner Bros. Discovery reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and softer revenue, adding pressure to address its heavy debt load and volatile share price.
The bidding has already lifted market expectations. The board previously turned down a mostly cash offer from Paramount worth nearly $24 a share, valuing the company at about $60 billion, and the stock has climbed more than 80 percent since news of that interest surfaced in September. Analysts say any successful bid would need to improve on that valuation while satisfying regulators in the United States and abroad, especially if a combination would expand one player’s theatrical market share or streaming footprint.
