Warner Bros Discovery wants Paramount to raise its offer to US$30 per share, Axios reports

WARNER Bros Discovery’s board wants Paramount Skydance to sweeten its latest bid of US$23.5 per share to about US$30 apiece, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Paramount’s offer was for 80 per cent in cash and 20 per cent in stock, Axios reported. The companies did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on the report.

At US$30 per share, Warner Bros Discovery would be valued at US$74.34 billion. That’s up from Paramount’s current offer of US$58.23 billion.

Earlier in the day, Paramount said Variety’s report on the company forming an investment consortium with the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi to submit a total US$71 billion bid for Warner Bros Discovery was “categorically inaccurate.”

Separately, the Financial Times also reported on Tuesday, citing people briefed on the matter, that Paramount CEO David Ellison has held preliminary talks with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and other Gulf investors about backing a potential bid for Warner Bros Discovery.

Shares of Warner Bros Discovery closed up 5 per cent while Paramount ended the day about 2 per cent higher.

Warner Bros Discovery, home to DC film universe and television studios, HBO, CNN, TNT and Warner Bros Games, is on the verge of breaking up, crippled by declines in its television business.

The company said in October it has been considering a range of options including a planned separation, a deal for the entire company, or separate transactions for its Warner Bros or Discovery Global businesses.

The Variety report said, citing sources, that the bid is being largely backed by the Ellison family with involvement from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the Qatar Investment Authority and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

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A bid backed by the Ellison family would highlight how newly appointed Paramount chief David Ellison has leveraged his Silicon Valley connections to expand his media empire, with the backing of his father Larry Ellison, the Oracle co-founder and the world’s second richest person.

Warner Bros Discovery, PIF, QIA and ADIA did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on the Variety report.

Reuters reported that Comcast and Netflix have also explored bids for the Warner Bros Discovery’s assets.

The initial deadline to submit non-binding first-round bids for the company is Nov 20. REUTERS