Netflix Explores Bid for WBD

Netflix has retained investment bank Moelis & Co. to evaluate a potential acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery's (WBD) studio and streaming businesses, including HBO and Max, granting the streamer access to confidential financial data in WBD's data room. 

The move, reported by Reuters, comes amid WBD's review of strategic options following unsolicited bids from Skydance-Paramount, with Netflix's interest focused solely on high-value content assets—not legacy cable networks like CNN or TNT.

A deal could hand Netflix control of blockbuster franchises like Harry Potter and DC Comics, bolstering its original content pipeline—WBD's TV studio already produces Netflix hits such as You, Maid, and Running Point—while adding HBO's prestige dramas and Max's 100 million+ subscribers to its 280 million global base. 

This aligns with Netflix's content-first strategy, as co-CEO Ted Sarandos emphasized during Q3 earnings: no appetite for "legacy media networks," but openness to assets enhancing storytelling capabilities.

WBD announced on October 23, 2025, it would explore splitting its cable networks (e.g., TNT, Food Network) from its studios, HBO, and streaming operations, or selling parts outright, after rejecting three full-company bids from Skydance-Paramount valued at $30–$40 billion. Netflix's exploratory phase marks it as a frontrunner, with Moelis. Other suitors include Comcast, eyeing post-spin assets, though no formal bids beyond Netflix's due diligence are confirmed.