Paramount Offered $60 Billion To Buy Warner Bros. Discovery and a Co-CEO Role for David Zaslav
The entertainment industry has been going nuts over Warner Bros. Discovery and how they’ve been exploring a potential sale, and Paramount Skydance stepped up with a massive offer to try and make it happen, one that even included a surprising leadership proposal for David Zaslav himself.
According to multiple reports, Paramount offered $60 billion to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal split between 80% cash and 20% stock. The bid came out to roughly $23.50 per share. However, despite the scale of that number, WBD’s board rejected the offer on October 21, calling it too low.
Still, Paramount isn’t backing down. David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance, is determined to make the merger happen, and he’s getting creative in his approach.
In a letter obtained by The New York Times via The Wrap, Ellison even proposed that David Zaslav become co-CEO and co-chairman of the new merged entertainment giant.
Ellison wrote: "We are confident that we are the best partner for WBD, with a combination of our two companies created a scaled Hollywood champion to the benefit of both our companies' shareholders, consumers and the entertainment industry at large."
That offer was designed to make the deal more appealing to Zaslav and the WBD board. Analysts suggest both companies are now “playing their parts perfectly,” as WBD likely aims to get Paramount to raise its bid.
Interestingly, Zaslav reportedly sees other potential merger partners as stronger fits for Warner Bros. Discovery, most notably Amazon and Netflix. Yet, Netflix seems uninterested in joining the race.
During a call with market analysts, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos made it clear that their focus remains on internal growth:
"Nothing is a must for us to meet our goals that we have for this business [...] When it comes to M&A [Mergers and Acquisitions] opportunities, we look at them—and we look at all of them—and we apply the same framework and lens that we look at when we look to invest.
“Is it a big opportunity? Is there additional value in ownership? [...] We're predominantly focused on growing organically, investing aggressively and responsibly into the growth and returning access cash flow to shareholders."
In short, Netflix isn’t interested in buying WBD and they’re sticking to their own lane.
Even so, analysts agree that Ellison’s pitch makes strategic sense. Combining Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance would create one of the biggest media powerhouses in Hollywood. As Robert Fishman of MoffettNathanson explained via THR:
"First, as we’ve previously acknowledged, a potential Paramount Skydance bid for the whole company makes a lot of strategic sense by owning a much stronger slate of IP at Warner Bros. and seeking scale with the combined HBO Max and Paramount+ platforms.
“Combining the linear network portfolios would also likely yield significant cost synergies, while unlocking strategic benefits from pairing CBS News with CNN and leveraging the long-standing CBS-Turner partnership for NCAA's March Madness Final Four, plus other overlapping sports rights portfolios."
If Ellison’s vision came to life, it could reshape the Hollywood landscape bu pairing iconic franchises, streaming services, and news divisions under one colossal banner.
For now, Warner Bros. Discovery remains independent, but the writing on the wall suggests change is coming. Whether it’s Paramount, Amazon, or another player that steps up, it’s clear that the future of WBD will play a major role in defining the next era of the entertainment industry.