Paramount denies report it is working with Saudis, other Arab funds on $71B bid for Warner Bros. Discovery

Paramount Skydance rejected a report that it’s working with a consortium of Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds on a $71 billion offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, calling it “categorically inaccurate.”

Variety reported on Tuesday that David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance is placing together the large bid together with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the Qatar Investment Authority and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, citing nameless sources with information of the matter.

“The information Variety published is categorically inaccurate,” a rep for Paramount said in a assertion to The Post. “This is a confidential process, which we respect and, as such, will not be commenting until the process is over.”

David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance denied a report that it’s working with a group of Middle East sovereign wealth funds on its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. AFP through Getty Images

The offer, which might worth WBD at about $28.65 a share based on the shares excellent, is being largely backed by the Ellison household, with Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital also supporting the bid, Variety reported.

The outlet said each of the sovereign funds would contribute $7 billion and Paramount Skydance would lay out $50 billion. The Warner Bros. board beforehand rejected a number of bids from Paramount for as a lot as $24 a share, The Post reported last month.

Representatives for the sovereign wealth funds didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

Shares of WBD jumped as a lot as 6.4% in New York on the initial Variety report before those good points leveled off. Paramount shares rose as a lot as 3.7%.

WBD, home to HBO, CNN, Warner Bros. movie studio and the Food Network, put itself up for sale in October after fielding curiosity from a number of events. It has set a Thursday deadline for bids.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts is predicted to make an offer for WBD’s film and streaming business. Bloomberg through Getty Images

Aside from Paramount, Netflix and Comcast are also anticipated to make an offer for the film and streaming components of the business.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts recently visited Saudi Arabia while exploring a potential bid for WBD.

WBD rejected Ellison’s current $24 a share offer, The Post reported last month. REUTERS

Paramount is believed to be the only social gathering fascinated with buying WBD totally.

Should a deal undergo, a merger between Paramount — home to Paramount Pictures, CBS, Showtime and Nickelodeon — and WBD would reshape the media industry by placing two of the greatest film studios and two of the most influential news networks under one roof.

WBD CEO David Zaslav favors splitting the company in two and dividing its struggling TV cable networks from its movie and streaming business. REUTERS

Ellison’s aggressive push to purchase Warner Bros. comes just months after he purchased Paramount in August, combining it with Skydance.

While the deal will doubtless face regulatory scrutiny, President Trump has smiled on it, as The Post previously reported. He’s an admirer of Ellison’s dad Larry Ellison, the low-profile billionaire co-founder of Oracle.

WBD honcho David Zaslav reportedly prefers to separate the company in two, separating the company’s profitable streaming and movie belongings from its struggling cable TV belongings.

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