Investors are widely expecting a fresh bid from Paramount Skydance for Warner Brothers Discovery, after WBD CEO David Zaslav and his board rejected an initial bid of roughly $20 per share. That offer was mostly cash but lacked a mechanism, known as a “collar,” that would provide a firmer price for the portion payable in Paramount shares, according to people familiar with the matter. Larry Ellison could sell some of his Oracle stock, worth more than $350 billion, and his son’s consortium is in talks with Apollo to take over some of Warner’s staggering debt load, according to another person familiar with the matter.
It isn’t clear what price Warner’s board would find acceptable, but company executives have told investors that they are moving ahead with a planned split for the business, according to people who have met with those executives. A split, with the value to stockholders clearly laid out, could provide a bidding floor.
Representatives for Apollo, Warner, and Paramount declined to comment. Any deal would require the blessing of the government. But Trump has already indicated a willingness to meddle in the workings of media companies — and given his closeness with the Ellison clan, he’s widely expected to weigh in.