Paramount Sweetens The WBD Pot

Paramount Chairman David Ellison has offered Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav a leadership role in a combined company if Paramount acquires the firm for $58 billion in cash and stock—despite Warner Bros. Discovery’s board unanimously rejecting three bids as too low and backing Zaslav’s plan to split the company next spring.

The unexpected retention offer, detailed in a letter last month to Warner Bros. Discovery’s board, aims to entice the 65-year-old Zaslav—who has fought to turnaround the debt-laden company after three years of setbacks—and secure control of assets including HBO, CNN, and Warner Bros. studios, according to sources.

David Zaslav

“They’re sweetening the pot,” said Paul Hardart, a professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business. “It just shows all the little arrows in their quiver they’re using to try to push this deal.”

Backed by tech billionaire father Larry Ellison, David Ellison’s pursuit faces resistance: Board members, including Zaslav, view the bids as undervaluing shareholders and support an independent path forward with the planned split.

Yet the board has opened an auction to other suitors, positioning Warner Bros. Discovery for its third ownership change in a decade. Two people close to the company, unauthorized to speak publicly, confirmed the rejections and strategic stance.

Zaslav, after decades building his career, remains determined to prove critics wrong and complete his turnaround without relinquishing control.