Paramount Skydance Gears Up for Bid to Acquire Warner Bros.

Paramount Skydance is getting ready to make a big offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. People familiar with the matter say the bid will be backed by the Ellison family and mostly paid in cash. The offer would cover the whole company, from its movie studio to its cable TV channels.

Warner Bros. Discovery recently said it was planning to split into two divisions, one handling cable TV and the other focusing on streaming and studios. By moving now, Paramount Skydance hopes to strike before that separation and avoid a bidding fight that could involve companies like Amazon or Apple.

If this deal happens, it would unite two legendary names in entertainment. Warner Bros. is behind the Harry Potter series, DC Comics, Barbie, and popular shows like The White Lotus. It also owns cable brands like CNN, TBS, and TNT.

Paramount Skydance, which just merged with Skydance under David Ellison, runs Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, and the Paramount Pictures studio. Both groups also own major streaming platforms: HBO Max and Paramount+.

The price tag is huge. Warner Bros. Discovery’s market value is around $33 billion, more than double that of Paramount Skydance. Analysts say a deal of this size will likely face close checks from regulators worried about competition.

The market reacted strongly to the news. Warner Bros. Discovery stock jumped by more than a third after The Wall Street Journal first reported the talks. Paramount Skydance shares also rose, but at a smaller pace.

For David Ellison, son of billionaire Larry Ellison, this move comes shortly after completing the Skydance and Paramount merger. While no official bid has been made yet, sources say the plan could still change or fall apart.

If this goes through, it would shake up Hollywood in a way we haven’t seen in years. Two of the biggest studios under one roof could change how movies, shows, and streaming work for everyone. But it also raises questions about whether so much power in one company is a good thing. What do you think? Should Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery become one giant studio? Share your thoughts in the comments.