Paramount Skydance Eyes All-Cash Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery

Paramount Skydance, the newly combined company led by David Ellison and backed by the Ellison family, is preparing a majority cash bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, multiple reports said on Thursday, a move that would target the entire company including its cable networks and movie studio. The possible offer sent Warner Bros. Discovery shares sharply higher in afternoon trading while Paramount stock also rose, according to market data cited in the reports.

People familiar with the matter described the prospective bid as primarily cash and supported by the Ellison family’s personal wealth. Both Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment, the reports said. An individual close to Paramount’s leadership told one outlet that “He’s been looking at Warner Bros for awhile. Nothing new there, he’s just taking a closer look, assessing the pros and cons.”

The potential acquisition would encompass Warner’s film and television businesses, streaming units and a wide constellation of cable channels, even as Warner Bros. Discovery has publicly outlined plans to split into two companies — a Warner Bros. studios-and-streaming entity and a Discovery-led global cable...