Future of HBO owner set to be decided over coming months

The White Lotus

HBO’s White Lotus

Paramount Skydance, Netflix and Comcast have each made preliminary bids for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), following the passing of Thursday’s deadline for initial offers.

Interested parties had until yesterday to submit their opening bids, which are non-binding and act as the entry point to the process.

A second round of binding offers will then be made, with WBD hoping to have a buyer lined up by Christmas.

Zaslav RTS

Paramount Skydance, Netflix and NBCUniversal owner Comcast - whose bids were first reported by The New York Times - are seen by many as the leading contenders for WBD, which formally put itself on the block in October.

That came after three bids from David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance were rejected.

Just how the WBD negotiations move ahead remains to be seen, with the HBO and DC Comics outfit open to approaches for all and parts of the business.

Netflix and Comcast are expected to be focusing largely on the studios and streaming operations, while Paramount Skydance is more likely to be exploring a full acquisition.

Alongside the M&A process is the ongoing reorganisation of WBD, which chief exec David Zaslav unveiled last year. The move will see the US studio splitting the company in two, with Zaslav confirming earlier this month that the process would continue alongside sale talks.

Netflix, Comcast and Paramount Skydance appointed investment banks in recent months to gain access to WBD’s so-called data room in preparation to bid, while other potential buyers include Amazon MGM Studios.

There has been no word on any other bidders, but Disney ruled itself out two weeks ago.

Any deal will require regulatory approval, a process that is likely to take around 12 months form the date of any deal agreement.

The Writers Guild of America has already said a sale to “Paramount or another major studio or streamer would be a disaster for writers, for consumers, and for competition”, while politicians have also been voicing their concerns at further consolidation.

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