By Dawn Chmielewski, Amy-Jo Crowley, Dawn Kopecki and Milana Vinn
NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Comcast CMCA.O has retained financial advisors and gained access to financial information as it explores a bid for Warner Bros Discovery’s WBD.O studio and streaming businesses, according to four sources familiar with the matter.
NBCUniversal’s parent company has hired Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to evaluate a prospective offer, two of the sources said. Comcast also has been granted access to the data room, which contains the financial information it would need to make a bid, according to two of the sources familiar with the matter.
Spokespeople for Comcast, Warner Bros Discovery, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.
Comcast President Mike Cavanagh previously told investors that the company is evaluating media assets that “would be complementary to our existing business.” He also appeared to dismiss analysts who are skeptical of Comcast winning regulatory approval, saying “more things are viable than maybe some of the public commentary that’s out there.”
Industry observers have questioned Comcast’s ability to complete a merger, given U.S. President Donald Trump’s social media criticisms of the company’s chairman and CEO, Brian Roberts.
Warner Bros Discovery declined to answer questions related to a possible sale during the company’s third-quarter investor call Thursday. However, CEO David Zaslav touted the strength of its film and television studios, and predicted the HBO Max streaming service would reach 150 million subscribers by the end of the year.
The media company began evaluating its options after receiving a trio of unsolicited offers from Paramount Skydance PSKY.O to acquire the entire company, two of the sources said.
Netflix has hired Moelis & Co, the investment bank that advised Skydance Media on its successful bid for Paramount Global, to evaluate a prospective offer for Warner Bros Discovery's studio and streaming businesses, Reuters exclusively reported.
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski, Dawn Kopecki and Milana Vinn in New York, Amy-Jo Crowley in London, editing by Aurora Ellis)
((dawn.chmielewski@thomsonreuters.com))