David Ellison’s Paramount Seen as Front-Runner to Acquire Warner Bros. Discovery

David Ellison’s Paramount-Skydance is emerging as the leading contender to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, with analysts and industry experts pointing to Ellison’s access to deep financial backing and close ties to Washington as key advantages in what could become Hollywood’s biggest media merger in years.

Following Paramount’s merger with Skydance in August, the newly consolidated media powerhouse reportedly set its sights on one of Hollywood’s crown jewels — Warner Bros. Discovery, home to HBO, Warner Bros. Studios, and a streaming division with more than 120 million subscribers.

Reuters first reported that Warner Bros. Discovery rejected Paramount’s $60 billion approach on Tuesday. Still, reports suggest the company is effectively “in play,” attracting interest from Comcast (CMCSA.O), Netflix (NFLX.O), and Apple (AAPL.O) as potential bidders.

A potential $74 billion valuation

At a price of $30 per share, Bank of America analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich estimates Warner Bros. Discovery could fetch a valuation of around $74 billion. That figure might deter some suitors but not Ellison — whose father, Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, has an estimated net worth of $330 billion, making him the world’s second-richest person.

Apple, which held $36.3 billion in cash as of June, could easily finance such a deal but has historically avoided large-scale acquisitions; its biggest to date remains the $3 billion Beats purchase. Netflix, with $9.3 billion in cash, has never made a deal worth more than $1 billion. Comcast’s $9.7 billion in cash means any offer from its side would likely depend heavily on debt or external partners.

“Paramount appears to be in pole position,” said Paolo Pescatore, analyst at PP Foresight.

Breaking it up — or buying it whole?

Analysts note that, unlike Paramount, other potential buyers may only be interested in specific divisions of Warner Bros. Discovery rather than the entire company, which carries about $35 billion in debt and faces declining cable TV revenues.

“The studio would fit Netflix or Apple,” said Ross Benes, analyst at eMarketer. “The TV networks could go to a Comcast spin-off, while the studio would complement NBCU’s remaining assets.”

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos reiterated on Tuesday that the company has “no interest in owning traditional TV networks,” though he notably avoided ruling out the studio itself.

Apple, too, is seen as lukewarm toward cable assets — but Warner Bros.’ massive film and TV library, along with HBO’s acclaimed catalogue, would significantly bolster Apple TV+’s content arsenal.

Meanwhile, Comcast has been pivoting away from its legacy cable networks to focus on theme parks, streaming, and core NBCUniversal film and TV properties. Acquiring Warner Bros. would deepen that strategy and give it access to lucrative franchises such as DC Comics and Harry Potter for its Universal theme parks.

The Trump factor

David Ellison may also hold an edge few rivals can match — his father’s close relationship with President Donald Trump. Larry Ellison, a longtime Republican megadonor, was among the few high-profile tech executives to publicly back Trump ahead of last November’s election.

Analysts say this connection could help ease potential regulatory hurdles surrounding the deal, which would hand control of a major portion of the U.S. cable network landscape — and two of Hollywood’s most iconic studios — to the Ellison family.

“If anyone buys the entire company — or even divides and acquires it in parts — the transaction will still require approval from the current U.S. administration,” said Clee Bourne, head of strategic communications and journalism at Goldsmiths, University of London.

“And that’s where Ellison stands out,” she added. “His ties to the administration could make the path to approval a lot smoother.”