We first alerted you in September that Paramount (backed by the wealthy Ellison family) was making moves to acquire Warner Bros. It's a merger that would dramatically alter the currently struggling Hollywood landscape.According to Bloomberg's reporting over the weekend, Warner Bros. Discovery rejected Paramount's first bid of roughly $20 a share. Insiders say the bid was too low.Warner Bros. is coming off a highly successful summer, which is more than most studios can say. It started with A Minecraft Movie, which neared a $1 billion worldwide gross. Then they had hits like Sinners, Superman, and Weapons.Warner Bros. Discovery is valued at $42 billion. Paramount stands at about $18.5 billion.At Los Angeles' Bloomberg Screentime conference, Paramount CEO David Ellison didn't comment on the bid, but did say, "You actually need more content to yield more engagement" (via Variety).Paramount recently acquired the right-leaning Free Press to bulk up its news sector.Warner Bros. Discovery already had public plans to divide itself into two companies by April 2026, according to the Los Angeles Times. The plans were announced this July.Warner Bros. would be HBO, HBO Max, its IP library, and the studio lots in Burbank. CEO David Zaslav would continue as the leader of that arm.The other portion would be called Discovery Global and would consist of the company's traditional cable television channels. Gunnar Wiedenfels would head this group.Paramount's bid would be for Warner Bros. Discovery in its entirety.Let us know what you think. ...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Today