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Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix formally submitted takeover offers for Warner Bros. Discovery this week ahead of a deadline for first round offers, according to people familiar with the matter.
Paramount Skydance and its advisors had been weighing in recent days whether to submit a higher bid than its previous $23.50-per-share offer that WBD rejected, some of the people said. Both Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal, and Netflix, bid solely for the film and streaming assets, which consists of Warner Bros. studio and HBO Max, the people said.
Netflix's offer was expected to be "disciplined" with its bid, one of the people said. The size and structure of the offers weren't immediately clear.
Warner Bros. Discovery is aiming to have its sale process wrapped up by mid- to late-December, CNBC previously reported. Another round of bids is expected to occur in the coming weeks, some of the people said.
Representatives for Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, Netflix and Comcast declined to comment.
Last month Warner Bros. Discovery said it was expanding a strategic review of its business to include a potential sale — even as it carries on with a plan to split into two separate entities: Warner Bros., made up of the film studio and streaming platform, and Discovery Global, which would include the company's pay TV networks like CNN and TNT Sports.
While Warner Bros. Discovery's split has been underway, takeover interest from the newly merged Paramount Skydance led CEO David Zaslav and top brass to open up to a formal sale process.
The Warner Bros. logo is displayed on a water tower at Warner Bros. Studio on September 12, 2025 in Burbank, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
Paramount has already sent multiple letters to WBD's board explaining why its offer of $23.50 per share for all of WBD's assets is in the best interest of shareholders and the company itself.
WBD's stock was up about 2% in Friday morning trading at roughly $23.40 per share. The company's share price has increased more than 20% since announcing it was up for sale in October.
Paramount CEO David Ellison recently met with Saudi-backed sovereign funds about financing a potential transaction, although the conversations were only preliminary and Ellison and his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, are prepared to fully finance a transaction, people familiar with the matter said.
While Paramount is interested in a deal for the entirety of WBD, the formal sale process has opened up the possibility of a buyer for only part of the legacy media company.
If Comcast's offer for the studio and streaming assets were to be successful, Discovery Global would move forward with its spinout and current WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels would become CEO.
Comcast President and soon-to-be co-CEO Mike Cavanagh recently telegraphed in an earnings call that an acquisition of studio and streaming assets would be complementary to NBCUniversal. Comcast is currently in the process of spinning out its portfolio of cable networks, which includes CNBC, but will retain NBCUniversal.
Paramount Skydance, Netflix and Comcast are submitted takeover offers Thursday for Warner Bros. Discovery marking the first bid deadline in the sale process, according to people familiar with the matter.
— CNBC's David Faber contributed to this report.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would become the new parent company of CNBC upon Comcast's planned spinoff of Versant.
