Overview
- Warner Bros. Discovery plans to announce by mid-to-late December whether it will sell all or parts of the company or proceed with its planned separation into Warner Bros. and Discovery Global, with a data room open to suitors.
- Paramount’s three takeover bids, topping out at $23.50 per share with 80% in cash, were rejected as too low, and the company is keeping a hostile tender option open after refusing to sign an NDA that includes a standstill.
- Netflix and Comcast have signaled interest in the studio and streaming assets, with Netflix retaining Moelis & Co. to explore a potential offer.
- Regulatory headwinds are intensifying as California’s Department of Justice warns further entertainment consolidation does not serve consumers, and legal analysis indicates a WBD‑Paramount tie-up could cross the 30% market-share threshold and raise HHI by about 365 points.
- Theater owners are organizing over worries about fewer movie releases, while AMC CEO Adam Aron says the key issue is increasing film output and notes stated plans at Paramount and Warner to expand theatrical slates in 2026 and beyond.