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Paramount Skydance is preparing a bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, according to The Wall Street Journal.
A report published Thursday cited sources who told the Journal that Paramount Skydance, which went through its own merger last month and is now being led by David Ellison, is seeking to acquire the movie studio and cable networks run by one of the company’s top rivals.
If completed, the deal would mark the largest merger of two legacy Hollywood studios under one corporate umbrella.
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Paramount Skydance is reportedly preparing an acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery in a merger that would rock the entertainment and media landscape. (AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images / Getty Images)
Warner Bros. Discovery announced in June that the company was splitting the studio from its cable networks. The spinoff company, dubbed Discovery Global Networks, included CNN, TBS and TNT. It is unclear whether the corporate split would be halted as a result of a Paramount Skydance bid.
Paramount’s potential acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery would put HBO and CNN in the same corporate umbrella as CBS, Showtime, and several other cable networks, including Nickelodeon, MTV, BET and Comedy Central.
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The Journal noted that “a bid hasn’t yet been submitted and the plans could still fall apart.”
Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment. Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Paramount CEO David Ellison took over the company last month following its merger with Skydance Media. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Last month, Paramount merged with Skydance in an $8 billion transaction, which was ultimately approved by the FCC following Paramount’s months-long legal battle with President Donald Trump.
Trump had sued Paramount and CBS News over election interference in the network’s handling of its “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris that aired in the weeks leading up to the November election. Paramount settled Trump’s lawsuit in July.
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Paramount settled President Donald Trump’s lawsuit just weeks before the FCC approved its merger with Skydance. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Warner Bros. Discovery isn’t the only media asset Ellison reportedly has his eyes set on. Ellison is also seeking to buy The Free Press for $100-200 million and reportedly plans to give its founder, independent journalist Bari Weiss, a leading editorial role at CBS News.
Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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