By George Glover
The activist investor that pushed for railroad operator Norfolk Southern and bubble-wrap maker Sealed Air to sell themselves is wading into the Warner Bros. Discovery takeover battle.
Ancora Holdings said early Wednesday that it had built a $200 million stake in Warner Bros. and will vote against the company's proposed deal to sell its film and TV studios and the HBO Max streaming service to Netflix.
Ancora said in a presentation that Warner should "re-engage with" Paramount Skydance, which enhanced its offer on Tuesday.
The activist investor added that Netflix's offer was inferior in cash terms and would create more uncertainty for investors.
The streamer is proposing to spin the Discovery cable business out as part of its transaction. Some on Wall Street doubt those shares would be worth much because CNBC owner Versant Media Group, seen as a comparable to Discovery, has traded at a modest valuation since making its stock-market debut last month.
Ancora added that Warner shareholders are being asked to accept an "uncertain" final cash consideration based on unknown debt allocation and equity value of the spun off company.
Warner said in a statement shared with Barron's that its "experienced and independent Board and management team have a proven track record of acting in the best interests of the Company and shareholders--as evidenced by the extensive actions they have taken to unlock the full value of WBD's unmatched portfolio of assets over the last year."
The $200 million position pales in comparison to Warner's $68.9 billion market valuation as of Tuesday's close, so investors were shrugging off the idea that Ancora could disrupt the Netflix deal.
Warner shares edged higher in early trading, up 0.5% to $27.94. The S&P 500 was 0.4% higher after delayed January jobs data came in stronger than expected.
There have been plenty of plot twists since December, when Netflix agreed to buy Warner Bros. Paramount on Tuesday sweetened its $30 a share rival bid by introducing a so-called ticking fee of 25 cents a share, payable to Warner shareholders for each quarter its transaction hasn't closed beyond the end of this year.
Ancora has a track record of wading into takeover battles. It built a huge stake and won board seats in Norfolk Southern in 2024, before the company agreed to be bought by Union Pacific for almost $72 billion.
The activist also pushed for Sealed Air to take itself private. The bubble-wrap maker agreed in November to be bought by private-equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice for $10.3 billion.
Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 11, 2026 10:01 ET (15:01 GMT)
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