Warner Bros. Had Bids From Paramount, Report Says. It Rejected All 3.

Warner Bros. Discovery said Tuesday its board had launched a strategic review after the media giant received ‘unsolicited interest’ from multiple parties. (AFP via Getty Images)

Paramount Skydance’s latest offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery has been rejected, according to a report.

Multiple outlets have been following Paramount’s purported takeover bid for Warner Bros. On Wednesday, CNBC reported that Warner Bros. had rejected a third takeover offer from the media giant.

The bid was slightly under $24 a share and comprised of 80% cash, the report said, citing unnamed sources.

Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount didn’t immediately respond to Barron’s request for comment.

The report comes a day after Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed it was exploring a sale in light of “unsolicited interest” from multiple parties.

The media giant said Tuesday that its board was looking into “a broad range of strategic options,” including a sale of the entire company, or separate transactions for its Warner Bros. and Discovery Global businesses.

In June, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it planned to split into two public companies by 2026. Through that plan, which the company said Tuesday remains on the table, one company will house its movie studios and HBO Max streaming platform, while the other will oversee its cable channels.

Chris Marangi, co-chief investment officer of value at Gabelli Funds, noted Wednesday that viable bidders are limited beyond Paramount Skydance. The conglomerate is the best option, Marangi told Barron’s, with “significant synergies” in streaming, studios, and networks, as well as deep-pocketed backers.

Paramount lately has been on a buying spree, acquiring The Free Press earlier this month and snagging the U.S. media rights to all Ultimate Fighting Championship events in a $7.7 billion, seven-year deal.

Adding scale to NBCUniversal’s studios and network “has industrial logic but low valuation, and regulatory burdens hamper a bid,” Marangi said. NBCUniversal has been owned by Comcast since 2013.

Big names in tech are unlikely to step forward, he thinks. “I don’t see Amazon , Google, or Meta diverting resources from the dominant theme of the next 50-plus years,” Marangi said, referring to artificial intelligence.

Apple has taken a more intentional approach to the addition of content to its portfolio, most recently becoming the broadcast partner for Formula One, and is unlikely to deviate from this path, Marangi added.

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance were up 0.6% and down 0.4%, respectively, on Wednesday. The benchmark S&P 500 fell slightly.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com