Paramount Prepares Warner Bros. Discovery Bid, Reports Say

Paramount Skydance is preparing a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, Bloomberg News reported on October 13. No deal is agreed. Warner Bros. Discovery has not commented in these reports, and Netflix has denied interest in a major purchase.

Bloomberg reported that Paramount has lined up financing for a bid, in reporting carried by BNN Bloomberg and Investing.com. The reports did not announce a formal offer. They described work under way inside Paramount to put one together.

Earlier reports on Tuesday, October 13, from the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, cited by Investing.com, said an initial bid in the region of 20 dollars per share was rebuffed. That figure is reported, not confirmed by either company in these accounts.

Two chiefs, one lunch, and a price gap

David Zaslav runs Warner Bros. Discovery. He has been chief executive since the 2022 Discovery merger. David Ellison runs Paramount Skydance. He has been chief executive since the August 2025 close of Skydance and its 8.4 billion dollar Paramount acquisition. His father, Larry Ellison, co founded Oracle.

Bloomberg cited a person familiar with the matter who said Zaslav and Ellison had lunch in September. Bloomberg also reported that Zaslav told colleagues an Ellison acquisition would need to offer a significant premium.

That reported line sets the core problem. WBD closed on Tuesday, October 13, with a market value of roughly 59 billion dollars. Before October 13, its shares were down about 4 percent since September 10, when reports of Paramount interest first moved them. A buyer must pay above a price the seller may already see as low.

Why WBD draws interest

Warner Bros. Discovery holds studios, cable networks and streaming assets that still draw buyers even as cable shrinks. A deal on this scale would reshape film, TV and streaming in one move.

TheWrap reported that WBD streaming and studio assets could also draw interest from other buyers. TheWrap named a possible Comcast move involving Peacock and Universal Pictures. That is a reported possibility, not a fact, and no buyer has announced such a move in these reports.

Any formal bid would also need to clear two gates. First, the WBD board must accept the price and terms. Second, regulators must review a deal that joins two large media groups. No timetable has been announced.

Netflix says it is building, not buying

Netflix has publicly played down big purchases. In an October 8 shareholder letter context, and in an October 8 Fortune report, co chief executive Greg Peters said Netflix is more focused on building than buying. A Netflix spokesperson denied interest in a major merger and acquisition deal.

That denial matters for the shape of the contest. If Netflix stays out, Paramount faces the board and regulators without a bidding war from the largest streamer. Other buyers could still appear, but the reports name interest, not bids, from anyone besides Paramount.

Key numbers from the reports

• Reported early bid level: in the region of 20 dollars per share, said to have been rebuffed, per Wall Street Journal and Reuters as cited by Investing.com
• WBD market value at the Tuesday, October 13 close: roughly 59 billion dollars
• WBD shares before October 13: down about 4 percent since September 10, when Paramount interest reports first moved them
• Skydance deal for Paramount: 8.4 billion dollars, closed in August 2025
• Reported lunch: Zaslav and Ellison met in September, per a person familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg

What happens next

A formal Paramount bid, if filed, would go to the WBD board first. The board can accept, reject or seek a higher price. Regulators would then review any agreed deal.

Until a filing or a company statement appears, this story rests on reporting, not on an agreed deal. The price, the financing and the board response will decide if the preparation turns into an offer.