Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Extends Surge on Paramount Skydance Takeover Reports

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shot up for a second straight session Friday on reports rival Paramount Skydance (PSKY) was preparing to make a bid to take over its media rival.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the story, saying the deal was backed by the Ellison family. David Ellison is Paramount Skydance CEO, and his father is Oracle (ORCL) co-founder and billionaire Larry Ellison.

The newspaper noted that Paramount’s majority cash bid would be for all of Warner Bros. Discovery, including its cable networks and movie studio. It added that an offer hasn’t yet been made, and the plans could fall apart.

Warner Bros. Discovery shares closed 29% higher yesterday following the initial report, and were up a further 10% soon after the opening bell. Paramount Skydance shares advanced more than 3% Friday morning. Both are significantly higher this year.

In June, Warner Bros. Discovery announced it intended to split into two companies, one made up of its studios and HBO Max streaming service, while the other would own its cable channels like CNN and TNT. The Journal pointed out that the move by Paramount was aimed at pre-empting a potential bidding war for studios and streaming service. 

Paramount Skydance was created last month after David Ellison’s Skydance Media completed its $8 billion takeover of Paramount Global.