David Zaslav's masterful media merger has catapulted Warner Bros. Discovery to unprecedented heights, with the company now valued at a staggering $72 billion – more than doubling its worth in just months. However, it appears Zaslav is far from done wheeling and dealing.
Before we dive into the intricacies of his recent bidding war, let's examine how he expertly maneuvered the sale of Warner Bros. Discovery to rival media moguls. It all began when Paramount Skydance made an initial offer of $23.50 per share, or around $56 billion, for the entire company, including its studio, HBO Max streaming service, and cable channels CNN, HBO, and Discovery.
The offer seemed like a done deal, with Paramount Skydance's deep-pocketed owners, David and Larry Ellison, promising WBD shareholders all cash in exchange for an asset that was struggling. However, Zaslav had other plans, having learned from his mentor CEOs Jack Welch and John Malone to scale down the bloated operation and improve the Warner studio.
Warner Bros. Discovery indeed began to show signs of life under Zaslav's watch, with its studio becoming the first to surpass $4 billion in revenues in 2025. He also successfully built up HBO Max, now the industry's third-largest streaming service.
But what about the Ellisons' bid? The pair, who had been confident they could outbid Zaslav, recently came in at $30 per share – only to see Netflix seal the deal at $30.75. It appears the larger bidding war has subsided, with the Ellisons now planning a counterattack.
While it's impossible to predict how the situation will unfold, one thing is clear: David Zaslav remains a formidable force in the media landscape. Will the Ellisons' bid ultimately succeed? Only time will tell.
Before we dive into the intricacies of his recent bidding war, let's examine how he expertly maneuvered the sale of Warner Bros. Discovery to rival media moguls. It all began when Paramount Skydance made an initial offer of $23.50 per share, or around $56 billion, for the entire company, including its studio, HBO Max streaming service, and cable channels CNN, HBO, and Discovery.
The offer seemed like a done deal, with Paramount Skydance's deep-pocketed owners, David and Larry Ellison, promising WBD shareholders all cash in exchange for an asset that was struggling. However, Zaslav had other plans, having learned from his mentor CEOs Jack Welch and John Malone to scale down the bloated operation and improve the Warner studio.
Warner Bros. Discovery indeed began to show signs of life under Zaslav's watch, with its studio becoming the first to surpass $4 billion in revenues in 2025. He also successfully built up HBO Max, now the industry's third-largest streaming service.
But what about the Ellisons' bid? The pair, who had been confident they could outbid Zaslav, recently came in at $30 per share – only to see Netflix seal the deal at $30.75. It appears the larger bidding war has subsided, with the Ellisons now planning a counterattack.
While it's impossible to predict how the situation will unfold, one thing is clear: David Zaslav remains a formidable force in the media landscape. Will the Ellisons' bid ultimately succeed? Only time will tell.
his decision to scale down warner bros discovery was genius and now they're raking in those $$$ 
and lets be real, 72 billion is crazy 
can't wait to see what's next for him and netflix 
. But honestly, I think Zaslav's done his thing right this time, he's got HBO Max all sorted out and Warner Bros. Discovery is rocking solid profits 
! Zaslav's got some serious game, and I'm not surprised he outbid those Ellisons 
. He must've done his homework and knew exactly how to scale down WBD and get it firing on all cylinders 
. The fact that HBO Max is now one of the top streaming services says a lot about his strategic thinking 
Whatever happens next, I'm curious to see how this all plays out! 
72 billion?! that's insane! david zaslav must be some kinda genius 
to turn warner bros discovery around so fast 
. i'm not surprised though, he did learn from those big shots jack welch and john malone 
. but what really gets me is how the ellisons just got outbid by netflix 
. it's all about the money 
I mean don't get me wrong, it's crazy to see Warner Bros. Discovery go from like $30 billion to over $70 billion in just months! But can we talk about the fact that they're basically playing a game of corporate chess here? 
It's all so confusing and high-stakes 
He must be loving every minute of it 
but seriously, Zaslav has done an amazing job scaling down Warner Bros. Discovery and making those studios actually profitable again 
I'm so impressed by his leadership skills 
and can't wait to see what he does next! 
. But now that the dust has settled, I'm curious to see how the Ellisons' bid plays out 
OMG I'm so stoked for Warner Bros. Discovery!!! $72 billion is CRAZY 
! I love how he took that company from struggling and turned it around, improving the Warner studio and making HBO Max a huge success 
. And can we talk about his negotiation skills? 
The way the bidding war went down is like that - David Zaslav had a strong grasp on Warner Bros. Discovery's future and Netflix came along with a bigger offer, kinda stealing his thunder. 
.