Overview
- The company confirmed a board-led review of strategic alternatives following approaches from multiple parties for the entire company and for the Warner Bros. studios and streaming unit.
- Options under consideration include a full sale, separate transactions for Warner Bros. and/or Discovery Global, or a structure that merges Warner Bros. with a third party alongside a spin-off of Discovery Global.
- The planned split into two companies remains targeted for mid-2026, and the company set no deadline for the review and cautioned it may not result in a transaction.
- Shares rose roughly 8% to 11% after the announcement, and the company retained Allen & Company, J.P. Morgan and Evercore as financial advisers with Wachtell Lipton and Debevoise & Plimpton as legal counsel.
- Reported suitors include Paramount Skydance—whose about $20-per-share offer was rejected—plus Comcast and Netflix, with valuation, financing and more than $40 billion of debt seen as key constraints.