Not a merger of equals, but if Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount join forces, they would create a behemoth with an impressive number of movie franchises to play with...
ADVERTISEMENTWarner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global have held talks about a potential merger of the two media companies, with WBD CEO David Zaslav meeting with PG CEO Bob Bakish, during which they discussed joining of forces.
The terms of a possible merger of the companies are obviously under wraps, but both companies have enlisted bankers.
The news was first reported by Axios, and then corroborated by Variety and Deadline Hollywood.
The deal would bring together two of Hollywood's "Big Five" studios, with Warner and Paramount's combined market value standing at $38 billion (€34bn). However, it would not be a merging of equals, as WBD's market value was around $29 billion (€26.5bn) as of yesterday, while Paramount's was just over $10 billion (€9.1bn).
According to Axios, Paramount is under a lot of pressure to find a buyer or strategic partner because of its levels of debt accrued in recent years. Warner Bros, the company behind this year's Barbie, has a slightly better cash position.
Pooling their respective assets, which span film, TV, streaming and sports, would not only see both companies create an impressively stacked news and entertainment behemoth, but also allow them to combine their Max and Paramount+ premium streaming services to better compete with Netflix and Disney+.
Film wise, Warner Bros. Discovery would acquire top-tier properties from Paramount Pictures, including franchises as Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, Top Gun, Scream, A Quiet Place, Terminator, Transformers, and more. The Warner Bros. Pictures stable includes Harry Potter, the DC Extended Universe films, Lord of the Rings and Mad Max.
On the TV front, Paramount’s networks include CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and BET. Warner Bros. Discovery’s line-up includes the likes of CNN, HBO, TNT, TBS, Discovery Channel and Cartoon Network.
Last year, AT&T's WarnerMedia unit and Discovery merged to become Warner Bros Discovery.
Talks between WBD and Paramount may not ultimately result in a deal, but any potential merger would make them a force to be reckoned with – and doubtlessly result in some new film projects and franchise reboots that would make for some box office catnip. Watch this space.
