Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global have held talks about a potential merger of the two media companies, Variety has confirmed.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav had a meeting with Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish on Tuesday in New York to discuss a possible merger, sources said. Zaslav also has spoken to Shari Redstone, whose National Amusements Inc. owns a controlling stake in Paramount Global, about a possible combination of the companies.
Reps for Paramount Global and WBD declined to comment. Axios first reported the talks.
Terms of a potential combination of the companies could not be learned. Warner Bros. Discovery was formed through Discovery Communications’ acquisition of WarnerMedia from AT&T, a deal that closed in April 2022.
Redstone has been in talks to sell her shares in NAI, according to multiple reports. Redstone discussed a sale of her NAI stake with Skydance Media CEO David Ellison, who has teamed with private-equity firm RedBird Capital, and she separately met with departing Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick about a possible deal, the Journal reported. Meanwhile, Paramount management has considered laying off more than 1,000 staffers in early 2024 to cut costs, per the Journal.
Sources say Warner Bros. Discovery senior execs felt like they had to move sooner rather than later to engage in discussions with Paramount Global after the reports about Skydance’s interest in buying out Redstone’s NAI stake.
