Paramount Skydance Reportedly Exploring a Bid For Warner Bros. Discovery

Paramount Skydance is reportedly exploring a potential bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, a situation that could have big changes for the entertainment industry. Deadline reports that Paramount Skydance, which just completed a merger between those two companies, is looking at a potential bid to buy the media conglomerate. The move is one that some have speculated on for some time, though it was believed at the time that Paramount would be looking at just picking up Warner Bros. Studios as it moves to separate from WBD’s cable networks and linear TV. The site reports Paramount’s exploration is a bid that appears to be for the entire company.

A source close to Paramount executives told the site that Larry Ellison, who led the deal that saw Skydance Media acquire Paramount Global for $8.4 billion, “been looking at Warner Bros for a while. Nothing new there, he’s just taking a closer look, assessing the pros and cons.”

The report, which initially came out of the Wall Street Journal, caused WBD shares to jump on Thursday. The report notes that the big would be “mostly cash” and backed by the Ellisons. Neither company chose to comment on the report.

It was noted by WBD CEO David Zaslav on Wednesday that the separation process splitting Warner Bros. and Discovery Global is looking to finish up by April 2026. A Paramount acquisition of WBD would likely not need FCC approval as WBD does not hold any broadcast licenses. However, there is the chance that it could drew the eye of the Justice Department scrutiny due to antitrust concerns.

For wrestling fans, WBD is of course the broadcast partner of AEW and it’s not clear how or if this would affect that relationship. Paramount recently signed a major deal with TKO to bring UFC to Paramount+ and CBS broadcasts.