David Zaslav Sparks Bidding War for Warner Bros. Discovery

David Zaslav is looking to ignite a bidding war for his media conglomerate, and investors are eagerly anticipating the outcome.

Following reports of a potential monster bid from Paramount Skydance, shares of Warner Bros. Discovery surged 17% to $18.87. Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison is reportedly preparing an all-cash offer of $50 billion or more.

Last week, Zaslav met with bankers at Goldman Sachs to explore the possibility of selling Warner Bros. Discovery to other media and tech companies, including Amazon, Apple, and Netflix.

Zaslav’s goal is to boost the stock price to $40 a share. If no suitable offers are received, he plans to leverage the company’s rising stock price to acquire more content.

Representatives for Warner Bros. Discovery and Skydance declined to comment on the matter.

Interest in Warner Bros. Discovery and its assets has been on the rise, partly due to relaxed antitrust regulations during the Trump administration.

Media mogul Jay Penske has reportedly shown interest in acquiring CNN, which is currently facing challenges with its ratings.