Overview
- Nonbinding first-round offers are due Nov. 20, with the board targeting a year-end decision on a sale or a potential split of the company.
- Paramount Skydance is preparing the only full-company bid, while Netflix and Comcast are focusing on the studio and streaming assets.
- Variety reported a roughly $71 billion bid backed by Saudi, Qatari and Abu Dhabi funds, which Paramount Skydance called “categorically inaccurate.”
- Warner Bros. Discovery shares jumped on the initial report; earlier bids around $23.50 per share were rejected as Axios reports the board is seeking closer to $30.
- Regulatory and political hurdles remain central, with DOJ review expected, questions raised about a Netflix combination, skepticism about Comcast’s financing and regulatory path, and David Ellison attending Trump’s White House dinner for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.