WB Setting itself up for Sale This Year

Variety just put out an interesting article about the deals Warner Bros. Discovery has been making lately, especially with Tom Cruise and other big coming projects.

The main idea of the piece is that these actions were all taken by David Zaslav, CEO of WBD, who wants to sell the business in April.


For Each Type, In April, Warner Bros. Discovery can listen to offers to buy, sell, or merge with a company like NBCUniversal. Many people on the lot think this is what will happen. As part of the 2022 deal that brought WarnerMedia and Discovery together, the two-year lock-up term ends at that time. Getting a first look at Margot Robbie's LuckyChap and trying to get Christopher Nolan's follow-up to "Oppenheimer" are both recent actions that are like painting a house before it goes on the market.

On the other hand, some of the moves have made rival companies raise an eyebrow, according to anonymous sources.

"The strategy at Warner Bros. right now and the reason they made some of these big star deals is they’re basically playing with other people’s money. They’re shopping for Quentin or Cruise with the notion they can use it as a shiny object that is going to be additive when Zaslav sells the company.”