Warner Bros. Discovery could be for sale after all. The company announced Tuesday it had begun a review of “strategic alternatives” after receiving unsolicited interest in both the whole company and its Warner Bros. studio division.
It comes as WBD continues preparations to separate into two listed businesses – Warner Bros. and Discovery Global – by mid-2026.
Options under consideration include: proceeding with the current separation plan; a sale of the entire company; or discrete transactions involving Warner Bros. and/or Discovery Global. The board is also weighing an alternative structure that would combine Warner Bros. via merger while spinning off Discovery Global to shareholders.
Netflix has been liked with a possible bid for the HBO Max owner, but in his company’s third-quarter earnings call, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos denied that was a possibility: “We’ve been very clear in the past that we have no interest in owning legacy media networks…There’s no change there.”
It’s understood Paramount-Skydance made a recent approach to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, roughly valued at about $20 per share, which WBD rebuffed.
Chief executive David Zaslav said the process aims to “unlock the full value” of the group’s portfolio, citing progress on studio performance and HBO Max scale. Chair Samuel A. Di Piazza Jr. added that the review broadens the board’s scope while maintaining support for the two-company strategy.
WBD cautioned there is no timetable and no assurance the review will lead to any transaction beyond the split already in motion. Allen & Company, J.P. Morgan and Evercore are acting as financial advisers, with Wachtell Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Debevoise & Plimpton as legal counsel.
Adds Netflix co-CEO comment
