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Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global Reportedly Discuss Merger Options
December 20, 2023
The CEOs of Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global reportedly met Dec. 19 in New York about a possible merger between the two legacy media companies.
The meeting, according to Axios, which cited numerous sources, revolved around how the two companies might meld operations, which include studios Warner Bros. Pictures, Paramount Pictures, CNN, CBS, HBO, HGTV, and streaming platforms Max and Paramount+, among other assets.
Paramount Global, which is majority owned by National Amusements and its president Shari Redstone, has been reportedly exploring options to help reduce its corporate debt, in addition to Paramount debt. Paramount’s market valuation hovers around $10 billion through Dec. 20, while Warner Bros. Discovery is valued at $29 billion. By comparison, Netflix has a market valuation of $220.6 billion.
While the report said the discussions were preliminary, with no suggestion about a possible deal, a merger of the two legacy companies — led by WBD CEO David Zaslav and Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish — would reverberate through Hollywood.
Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount had the No. 1 theatrical box office hits in 2023 and 2022 with Barbie ($1.44 billion) and Top Gun: Maverick ($1.49 billion), respectively.
WBD’s Max and Paramount+ subscription streaming video platforms ended the most-recent fiscal period with 95 million subscribers and 63 million subs, respectively.