Warner Bros. Discovery Fields Takeover Bids from Paramount, Comcast, and Netflix

Warner Bros. Discovery has received formal first-round takeover offers from Paramount Skydance, Comcast, and Netflix, setting the stage for a high-stakes battle over the media giant’s future. The bids reveal fundamentally different strategic interests among the suitors, presenting a complex decision for the WBD board.

### Diverging Approaches

Comcast and Netflix are surgically targeting only the company’s film and streaming assets, which include the Warner Bros. studio and HBO Max. Comcast’s proposal would see its NBCUniversal unit absorb these assets, a move its President Mike Cavanagh has publicly framed as complementary and regulatorily “viable,” while specifically allowing WBD to spin off its cable networks like CNN and TNT Sports prior to closing. This approach mirrors Comcast’s own internal restructuring, where it is separating its cable portfolio to focus on its broadcast, streaming, and studio properties. Netflix’s bid for the same content-creation assets is expected to be financially “disciplined,” indicating a calculated play for scale rather than an all-out acquisition. In stark contrast, Paramount Skydance has submitted its fourth offer, pursuing the entirety of WBD’s assets after a previous $23.50-per-share bid was rejected. The persistence from Paramount, backed by financing readiness from David and Larry Ellison, signals a conviction in a full-scale merger. These competing offers arrive as WBD simultaneously pursues its own plan to split into separate studio and pay-TV network companies, a process initiated after Paramount’s initial interest. For investors, the market has already priced in significant activity, with WBD’s stock climbing over 20% since the sale process was announced in October, closing Friday at $23.19 per share according to [MarketWatch](https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/wbd). The company has acknowledged the offers and is expected to proceed with another round of bidding, aiming to conclude the process by late December.

The Warner Bros. logo is displayed on a water tower at Warner Bros. Studio on September 12, 2025 in Burbank, California.

Mario Tama | Getty Images

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would become the new parent company of CNBC upon Comcast’s planned spinoff of Versant.

The competing bids force Warner Bros. Discovery’s leadership to decide not just on a price, but on the fundamental structure and identity of the company moving forward.