By Joe Flint and Lauren Thomas

A battle for the future of Warner Bros. Discovery is brewing.

Warner Chief Executive David Zaslav four months ago unveiled a plan to split the media giant into two, with its TV and movies studio and streaming business in one publicly traded company and its cable networks in another.

Now David Ellison, the son of billionaire Larry Ellison and chief executive of Paramount, is making a play for all of Warner before it splits.

Paramount in late September approached the company about a potential majority-cash offer heavily backed by the Ellisons, according to people familiar with the matter. Warner's board is aware of the proposal, some of the people said.

Warner's Zaslav has so far resisted overtures from Paramount. Ellison is now considering his options, which could include a more aggressive approach, such as taking an offer directly to shareholders, some of the people said.

The bold move comes just a few months after Ellison's Skydance Media closed its deal to acquire Paramount. Besides its movie and TV studios, Paramount owns the CBS broadcast network, cable networks including MTV and Comedy Central and the Paramount+ streaming service. It also just bet $150 million on a deal to acquire The Free Press, a popular news and opinion site, and installed its co-founder Bari Weiss as editor in chief of CBS News.

Paramount has a market value of around $19 billion while Warner has a market value above $40 billion. Buying Warner would also require taking on the company's massive debt load, of some $35 billion.

The stocks of Paramount and Warner have risen roughly 45% and 60% so far this year, respectively, in part as investors bet on cost savings and growth from a potential deal.

While it would be unusual for a company to swallow another roughly twice its size, having the financial backing of the Ellison family -- and potentially other investors -- could allow Paramount to pull off such a large transaction.

Apollo Global Management has told Paramount it would be willing to provide debt financing for a potential offer, people familiar with the matter said.

Paramount could be eager to do a deal for Warner before its planned split for a few reasons. The studio and streaming business on its own could be more likely to attract multiple bidders. Secondly, if the split goes through, 20% of the studio and streaming company will be held by the cable networks company, and the incoming CEO of that company has already indicated suitors are eyeing that stake.

Ellison has long coveted rolling up Warner and Paramount. Asked about buying Warner at an industry conference hosted by Bloomberg last week, Ellison declined to comment on the company but said, "We have the capital and resources to be opportunistic."

Zaslav has indicated to associates that Warner isn't for sale and that he wants to proceed with the split, which is scheduled to be completed next spring, according to people familiar with his thinking. He has told associates the split is a better long-term bet for shareholders because there will be many suitors for its studio and streaming assets.

Bloomberg earlier reported that Warner had rebuffed a bid from Paramount.

Netflix is seen by some industry observers as a potential suitor for Warner's entertainment assets, though the streaming company's co-chief executive Greg Peters played down the idea at the industry conference hosted by Bloomberg last week.

"We come from a deep heritage of being builders rather than buyers," Peters said.

If Paramount succeeds in its pursuit of Warner, it would create a huge conglomerate housing two iconic studios. Warner Bros. has a vast library of classic movies and TV shows and its movie studio is on a hot streak as of late with hits including "Weapons" and "Sinners." Its TV studio makes popular shows for Disney's ABC, Netflix and Apple's TV+.

Typically such a combination would face scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers, but dealmakers say the Trump administration's friendlier posture toward consolidation has encouraged executives to take risks. This year's big tie-ups include a more than $70 billion transcontinental railroad merger.

The Ellisons have close ties to President Trump.

Write to Joe Flint at Joe.Flint@wsj.com and Lauren Thomas at lauren.thomas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 12, 2025 21:18 ET (01:18 GMT)

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