Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has requested bidders for the company submit second round offers by December 1.
Paramount under the new leadership of David Ellison submitted a bid – its fourth – for the entire WBD by the previous November 20 deadline. Universal owner Comcast and Netflix also bid, although only for the media company’s studios and streaming business.
WBD CEO David Zaslav has made it known he believes a deal could close by the end of the year, although regulators in the US and abroad may have something to say about that.
All three known bidders are understood to have signed non-disclosure agreements during the prior round. This means there could be other bidders who have stayed away from press speculation or are not we well-known.
Ellison and his father Larry Ellison have a good relationship with Donald Trump. The US president has shown he will mobilise against media companies if they upset him, and has found an ally in Federal Communications Commission Brendan Carr.
Paramount is understood to be closing a deal with Warner Bros to distribute Rush Hour 4 to be directed by franchise regular Brett Ratner, who is slowly making a comeback after #MeToo allegations in 2017.
Netflix is the biggest surprise participant after co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters have said publicly they are builders not buyers. However Netflix needs franchises to lure and keep its 300m-plus subscriber base and at the very least will benefit from a deep dive into the inner workings of WBD, particularly with regard to streaming platform HBO Max.
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