NEW YORK (AP) — Just months after announcing plans to split into two companies, Warner Bros. Discovery has signaled that it may be open to selling its business.
In a statement released Tuesday, the entertainment giant said it had launched a review of “strategic alternatives” in light of the “unsolicited interest” it had received from multiple parties, both for the company as a whole and for Warner Bros. specifically.
Warner Bros. Discovery did not say where the interest came from, and a spokesperson said the company could not share additional information when contacted by The Associated Press on Tuesday. But its review comes after growing reports of a potential bidding war, including from Skydance-owned Paramount, which completed its own $8 billion merger in early August.
Citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that Paramount contacted Warner in late September about a potential majority cash offer — but that Warner Chief Executive David Zaslav rebuffed those initial offers. According to the outlet, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison then considered taking a more aggressive approach, such as going directly to shareholders.
CNBC also reported that Netflix and Comcast were among the interested parties, citing unnamed sources. Comcast declined to comment Tuesday. Paramount and Netflix did not immediately respond to AP requests for statements.
Last June, Warner Bros. Discovery has outlined plans to split its cable and streaming offerings – with HBO, HBO Max, as well as Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, to become part of new streaming and studio company; while networks like CNN, Discovery and TNT Sports and digital products such as streaming service Discovery+ and Bleacher Report would provide a separate counterpart to cable.
Warner expected the split to be completed by mid-2026 — and said Tuesday that continuing to advance that separation was still among the options he was currently considering.
“We made the bold decision to prepare to separate the company into two separate, leading media companies, Warner Bros. and Discovery Global, because we believed this was the best path forward,” Zaslav said in a statement. Nevertheless, he added, “it is not surprising that the significant value of our portfolio is increasingly recognized by other market participants.”
The company said there was no specific timeline for its review process — and noted that beyond the separation already underway, “there can be no guarantee” that the process will result in a transaction.
Warner Bros. shares Discovery, headquartered in New York, jumped more than 9% Tuesday morning.
