According to a new report from Axios, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav, and the CEO of Paramount Global, Bob Bakish, met each other on Tuesday at Paramount’s headquarters in Times Square to discuss merging the two companies. Reportedly, David also talked to Shari Redstone, the President of National Amusements, the company that owns Paramount Global, about the merger of the two entertainment giants.
The market value of Warner Bros. Discovery is around $28 billion and that of Paramount Global is around $10 billion. Plus, Paramount Global has a significant amount of debt. So, Warner Bros. Discovery acquiring Paramount Global is more likely than the other way around. However, there’s currently no information on whether Warner Bros. Discovery is planning to buy Paramount Global or National Amusement. Sources tell the publication that both options are on the table.
Since the deal is in the early stages, it can go either way. If the merger goes through, it could combine the two streaming services from these companies, Max and Paramount Plus. That would help them compete with other players in the space that are more popular, like Netflix and Disney Plus. The Verge reached out to the Federal Trade Commission to get a comment on the potential deal. However, the agency declined to comment.
