Warner Bros Discovery, the media conglomerate behind HBO, CNN, and the Warner Bros film studio, is exploring a sale—just three years after WarnerMedia and Discovery combined to form the unified giant.
The discussions follow an earlier announcement in June this year, when the company’s board said it was considering unwinding the 2022 merger by splitting the business back into separate entities.
However, following that announcement, “unsolicited interest from multiple parties for both the entire company and Warner Bros” prompted company brass to consider an outright sale or a de-merger. In other words, sell Discovery and merge Warner Bros. with another company, yet to be decided, the company said in a statement.
Warner Bros Discovery has amassed significant debt since the 2022 merger, driven mainly by operational challenges and high interest costs tied to the original deal. This combination of factors brought the company’s total debt load close to the equivalent of its market capitalization of around $40 billion before the merger chatter started circulating.
On the other side of the equation, the US media industry has been consolidating rapidly, pressured by the expansion of streaming and the steady erosion of traditional pay-TV audiences and advertising revenue.
This environment has proven a fertile ground for bidders, who have been swarming Warner Bros Discovery since June.
Amongst the interested parties, Paramount-Skydance, led by David Ellison—the son of multi-billionaire entrepreneur Larry Ellison, the CEO of Oracle—is the most active.
Warner Bros Discovery’s rejected Ellison’s $60 billion offer earlier in October and is said to be mulling a new, even higher offer. In addition to the funding, primarily supported by Larry’s nearly $300 billion fortune, the bid is also said to have the backing of US President Donald Trump, which could help the deal navigate potential antitrust issues.
“Larry Ellison is great and his son David is great,” Trump told reporters on Oct. 12. “They’re friends of mine. They’re big supporters of mine.” However, the stakes have recently gotten higher with streaming giant Netflix and cable behemoth Comcast reportedly joining the race, albeit without making a formal offer as of this report.