David Ellison, the media mogul who took over Paramount just last month, has already set his sights on another blockbuster deal: He wants to buy Warner Bros. Discovery.

Ellison is planning a bid for the company, which owns HBO, CNN and the Warner Bros. movie studio, according to three people with knowledge of the plans.

A merger of the two Hollywood giants would reshape the media industry, putting some of the most renowned news and entertainment brands under the same roof. It would unite two of the biggest movie studios and two of the most influential news networks, CBS News and CNN.

Warner Bros. Discovery is reorganising its media business. The company said this year that it would split its cable networks from its streaming and studio business, following a similar move at Comcast.

Ellison is interested in acquiring the entire company, in line with his strategy of doubling down on both streaming and traditional TV, the people with knowledge of the plans said. The bid would be made mostly in cash.

A deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery would be costly. The company is worth $41 billion and has $35 billion in debt, remnants of the 2022 merger that brought it to life.

But the Ellison family has the means: Ellison’s father, Larry, is a co-founder of Oracle and one of the richest men in the world, with an estimated net worth of $383 billion, according to Bloomberg.

David Ellison has moved quickly to transform Paramount. The company struck a deal to licence rights from the Ultimate Fighting Championship, reached a long-term agreement with the creators of “South Park” and commenced talks to acquire The Free Press, an against-the-grain digital publisher co-founded by Bari Weiss.

Ellison has long held ambitions to expand Skydance with acquisitions, particularly given the company’s small size relative to rivals like Comcast, two people familiar with the matter said. To succeed, he will need to persuade the board of Warner Bros. Discovery and its shareholders that they are better off selling the company now than waiting for its prospects to improve once it is separated into two companies. News of the potential bid sent Warner Bros. Discovery’s stock soaring 27 per cent on Thursday.

New York Times News Service