Key Stats for Warner Bros. Discovery Stock
- 1-day Price Change for $WBD stock: 4%
- Current Share Price: $17.78
- 52-Week High: $20.24
- $WBD Stock Price Target: $18.27
What Happened?
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) stock rose 4% yesterday after Bloomberg News reported the company rejected a takeover offer of roughly $20 per share from Paramount Skydance, calling the bid “too low.”
The report suggests Paramount could come back with a higher offer, launch a hostile bid, or bring in a financial partner.
The rejected offer came in recent weeks from David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance, which only just completed its $8 billion merger with Paramount Global in August.
WBD stock has now surged more than 36% since news first broke on September 11 that Ellison was interested in acquiring the company.
According to multiple reports, Paramount Skydance has been working with an investment bank to prepare a formal bid and has held talks with Apollo Global Management about backing the offer.
Larry Ellison, Oracle’s billionaire founder and David’s father, provided most of the funding for the Paramount deal and could help finance a WBD acquisition.
CNBC’s David Faber reported Friday that any offer could land in the $22 to $24 per share range and might be structured as 70% to 80% cash with the rest in stock. However, he cautioned that this was speculative, and timing remains uncertain.
The timing is interesting because WBD recently announced plans to split into two companies by April 2026—Warner Bros. (studios and streaming) and Discovery Global (TV networks).
Any bid now would need to be for the entire company before that separation happens.
See analysts’ growth forecasts and price targets for WBD stock (It’s free!) >>>
What the Market Is Telling Us About WBD Stock
The market’s enthusiasm to WBD stock reflects growing belief that WBD’s assets are significantly undervalued at current prices.
As MoffettNathanson analyst Robert Fishman noted, “A bid for WBD would solidify the overlooked value of its portfolio of assets that was weighed down by its balance sheet.”
A combination of Paramount, Skydance, and WBD would create a media powerhouse with unmatched content and distribution.
The combined entity would own two major film studios, massive sports rights portfolios (NFL, MLB, NHL, March Madness, UFC), streaming platforms with over 200 million subscribers, and iconic franchises like DC Comics, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, and Transformers.
WBD has been executing well operationally despite industry headwinds. It expects HBO Max streaming to generate at least $1.3 billion in EBITDA this year, up from losing $2.5 billion just 3.5 years ago.
The Studios business is on track to deliver over $2.4 billion in EBITDA, up from $1.4 billion, with Warner Bros. now the #1 studio domestically and globally after six consecutive films opening above $40 million.
CEO David Zaslav has publicly advocated for media consolidation, telling investors the industry has “too many players” and predicting rationalization ahead.
With WBD’s market cap around $42 billion and total debt of $35.6 billion (net debt down to about $30 billion), a deal would require massive financing but could make strategic sense in a consolidating media landscape.
The big question is price. Paramount rejected WBD’s initial $20 offer, but with shares trading around $19, it seems the market expects a sweetened bid closer to that $22-$24 range to get a deal done.
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Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
