US-based Moelis & Co previously worked on Skydance’s merger with Paramount
Netflix has hired a US investment bank to explore a bid for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD).
The streaming giant has called upon the services of Moelis & Co to run rule over WBD’s books as it considers whether to make a bid for part of the US studio, according to Reuters.
Moelis & Co have form on media mergers having recently worked with Skydance on its acquisition of Paramount, with the move allowing Netflix to gain access to WBD’s financial information and data that would allow it to make bid.
The move comes despite the streamer’s co-chief execs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos downplaying their interest over recent weeks, particularly over any deal involving WBD’s channels business, which is in the midst of being spun off into a separate business.
Peters spelt this out earlier this month, pointing to his “scepticism around big media mergers” and Sarandos doubled down during his Q3 earnings call last week, describing the streaming giant as a builder not a buyer with “no interest in owning legacy media networks.”
NBC Universal owner Comcast also yesterday signalled that the telco would be exploring whether to bid for WBD, with president Mike Cavanagh admitting he is looking at “complementary” media assets.
Paramount Skydance continues to be seen as the most likely acquirer, however, with the David Ellison-led outfit making its first offer in mid-September before following up with two further offers, the latter at $24 a share valuing WBD at $57bn (£43.3bn).
The third of these prompted WBD, which holds around $35bn in debt, to go public in its admission that it is looking at options after “unsolicited interest” from “multiple parties”.
These options include selling off portions of the business, or the company in its entirety, while an “alternative separation structure” could enable a merger of Warner Bros and a spin-off of Discovery Global to shareholders.
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