New merger of studios in sight in Hollywood?
Speculations on the future of Warner Bros. have started to gain momentum for a few days, across the Atlantic.
After the redemption of Fox by Disney, it is the Warner Bros. studio. which could be bought by a competitor.
Nothing seems to be really acted yet, but the idea is circulating and two buyers are apparently on the starting line.
According to a Puck News report, Netflix is one of the companies who are thinking about offering Warner Bros. and its assets. The rumors gained momentum this week, especially after Ted Sarandos (CEO of Netflix) and David Zaslav (WB boss) were seen together during a boxing fight (Terence Crawford vs Canelo Álvarez) this weekend.
No details on the amount of a possible offer or its implications has filtered. But Netflix is not the only one to have views of WB. Last week, it was reported that Paramount/Skydance also envisaged a takeover, supported by the Ellison family, with David Ellison (Skydance Media owner) and his father Larry Ellison, co -founder of Oracle and currently the richest man in the world with a fortune estimated at 393 billion dollars.
Paramount’s offer would target Warner Bros., studios and wired chains included. A daring operation, since the market capitalization of Warner Bros., estimated at 33 billion dollars, is twice that of Paramount Skydance.
But the Warner Bros. group. Discovery (WBD), led by David Zaslav, who now owns Warner Bros. After the merger between Warnermedia and Discovery in 2022, was in a complicated financial situation. Since the merger in April 2022 between Warnermedia and Discovery, WBD has accumulated significant debt, reaching around $ 40.7 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2024. To lighten this charge, the company has set up a debt reduction plan, aimed at buying almost half of its $ 37 billion obligations, obligations. In parallel, WBD plans to divide into two listed entities on the stock market by 2026: one concentrated on studios and streaming (HBO Max, DC Studios), the other on cable channels (CNN, TNT). This split aims to better manage the debt and improve the profitability of the Grope.
But the merger of Warner Bros. With another studio would be another strategy to reduce debt, and restructure the company, as well as strengthen its position on the market in the face of growing competition in the entertainment industry.
For the moment, no discussion is officially underway.
