Traders are speculating that the battle for control of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD.US) may prompt one of the bidders to increase its offer. Shares of the historic Hollywood studio closed just below $29 on Wednesday, after briefly surpassing $31 the previous day when Paramount Skydance (PSKY.US) indicated it might raise its bid by at least $1 per share. Warner Bros. Discovery had agreed in December to sell to Netflix (NFLX.US) for $27.75 per share, plus stakes in some of its cable networks like TNT and CNN. Since the bidding contest began, Warner Bros. Discovery's stock has not exceeded $30 per share, likely due to market concerns over lengthy regulatory scrutiny of the Netflix deal and uncertainty around the valuation of cable assets. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery's board has repeatedly rejected Paramount Skydance's $30 per share acquisition proposal. On Tuesday, Warner Bros. Discovery received a revised proposal with improved terms and agreed to resume negotiations with Paramount Skydance, signaling a potential breakthrough. The news boosted Warner Bros. Discovery's shares by 2.7%, bringing them about 7% above their low from two weeks ago, as markets speculate the bidding is not yet over. Matt Osowiecki, a merger-arbitrage portfolio manager at Water Island Capital LLC, commented on Wednesday, "Trading at today’s price and a few days ago suggests the market believes this asset could sell for more than $30. If $30 was the ceiling, the stock wouldn’t be trading at $29—it would have to be lower to compensate for the time value of money." Oppenheimer event-driven analyst Michael Broudo noted that, based on wording in Paramount Skydance’s press release, its earlier $31 per share offer was not a "best and final" bid, making a raise to $32 a "reasonable estimate." Paramount Skydance has been pursuing Warner Bros. Discovery since last September, ultimately leading the target to put itself up for sale officially. Despite multiple offer increases, it lost out to Netflix. Three days later, Paramount Skydance launched a hostile bid at $30 per share and has since revised its proposal twice in response to specific issues but without raising the price. Warner Bros. Discovery has an agreement with the streaming giant allowing a seven-day negotiation period with Paramount Skydance over its latest offer terms until February 23.