Warner Bros. Discovery has entered a crucial stage in its potential sale, receiving a second round of bids that could accelerate the company’s next major move. A source familiar with the process told Reuters the fresh offers arrived over the weekend, including a mostly cash proposal from Netflix, as the studio weighs its strategic options.
Bankers representing Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix worked through the holiday weekend to finalize improved offers for all or portions of Warner Bros. Discovery. The bids are binding, which gives the company’s board room to act quickly if a proposal meets its criteria. However, the offers have not yet reached the “final” stage according to Reuters‘ reporting.
Neither Netflix nor Warner Bros. Discovery offered public comment on the latest round of negotiation activity. Bloomberg first reported the new bids on Monday.
The renewed push comes after Warner Bros. Discovery asked suitors to sharpen their proposals by Dec. 1, responding to a round of preliminary offers submitted in November. Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix have all remained active players in the pursuit, though not every bid has impressed the board.
Reuters previously reported the company rejected a mostly cash offer from Paramount valued at just under $24 per share — a deal that would have placed Warner Bros. Discovery’s valuation at roughly $60 billion. That decision came as the company publicly acknowledged it would explore strategic alternatives, signaling an openness to a sale or structural overhaul.
Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of HBO and CNN, first indicated in October that it was examining potential paths forward amid a rapidly evolving media landscape. Consolidation has accelerated across the industry, highlighted most recently by the $8.4 billion merger of Skydance Media and Paramount Global.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery has tried to reshape its own structure. In June, the studio behind the “Harry Potter” franchise and DC Films announced plans to split into two units next year — one centered on studio operations and another dedicated to cable networks.
The company aims to isolate its growing streaming business from its cable networks, allowing each side to pursue distinct strategies and budgets.
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