Comcast has hired financial advisors and gained access to financial information as it explores a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, according to four sources familiar with the matter related to the studios and streaming companies.
NBCUniversal’s parent company has hired Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to evaluate a possible bid, according to two sources. Comcast has also gained access to the data room that contains the financial information needed to submit a bid, according to two sources close to the process. Spokespeople for Comcast, Warner Bros. Discovery, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.
Comcast President Mike Cavanagh previously told investors that the company is evaluating media assets that would “complement our current business.” He also appeared to dismiss analysts who are skeptical about the possibility of obtaining regulatory approval, stating that “there are more viable options than are mentioned in some public comments.”
Industry analysts have cast doubt on Comcast’s ability to complete a merger, given US President Donald Trump’s social media criticism of the company’s chairman and CEO, Brian Roberts.
Warner Bros. Discovery declined to answer questions related to a possible sale during its third-quarter investor conference call on Thursday. However, CEO David Zaslav highlighted the strength of its film and television studios and predicted that the HBO Max streaming service would reach 150 million subscribers by the end of the year.
The media company began evaluating its options after receiving a trio of unsolicited offers from Paramount Skydance to acquire the entire company, two of the sources said.
Netflix has hired Moelis & Co., the investment bank that advised Skydance Media on its successful bid for Paramount Global, to evaluate a possible bid for Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming businesses, Reuters has exclusively reported.
With information from Reuters
Also read: Warner Bros Discovery records greater than expected losses amid its possible sale
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