Warner Bros. Discovery has asked potential buyers to submit improved second-round offers by Monday, December 1, according to Deadline.
The company has been reviewing first-round, non-binding bids since November 20. Paramount-Skydance is reportedly aiming to buy the entire company, while Netflix and Comcast are targeting the Warner Bros. film and TV studios along with the streaming platform, HBO Max.
WBD believes the sale process could wrap up by late December, though any deal would likely take at least a year to clear regulatory review. With the new deadline coming right after the Thanksgiving weekend, bankers and executives are preparing for an intense few days. All bidders have already signed NDAs and begun reviewing the company’s financials.
Warner Bros. Discovery kicked off the formal auction earlier this year after receiving multiple offers from Paramount, which was acquired by David Ellison’s Skydance in August. Comcast, meanwhile, is spinning off NBCUniversal’s cable networks into a new company, Versant, and has a long history of major acquisition attempts. Netflix’s bid is more unexpected, given the streamer’s preference for organic growth.
If no sale materializes, WBD still has the option to split off its linear TV networks from its studios and streaming business.
Bloomberg was first to report the new deadline.
