Overview
- At Bloomberg’s Screentime conference, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison declined to discuss a WBD offer and said only that there are “actionable” M&A options aimed at producing more content.
- Reporting indicates Ellison has sounded out private equity partners, with Apollo cited as a potential financier and Blackstone described as unlikely to participate at this stage.
- Warner Bros. Discovery has tapped Goldman Sachs to gauge buyer interest as it proceeds toward a 2026 split of studios/streaming and linear networks, and sources suggest no clear role for David Zaslav in a combined company.
- Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters publicly downplayed any bid for WBD, while separate reports say Comcast could explore a run once its Versant spinoff is complete, though rival interest remains uncertain.
- No formal proposal has been submitted, WBD’s debt and valuation pose hurdles, and Paramount Skydance’s recent Free Press acquisition and senior hires highlight an aggressive but capital-intensive strategy.