Media giant Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) is talking to potential suitors for part or the entirety of the business. One interested party could be technology giant Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), according to a new report.
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Apple Named As Potential Suitor
Apple recently landed the rights to Formula 1 (NASDAQ:FWONA)(NASDAQ:FWONK) races beginning in 2026 for the U.S. market.
The company has been adding sports rights such as Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and Formula 1 to boost its live offerings along with a growing content library that includes many hit shows, including the award-winning and record-breaking "The Studio."
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said Apple was one of the interested parties in acquiring the media company or portions of the company, sources told Bloomberg.
Other potential suitors named included Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), Comcast Corp (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX), according to the report.
Benzinga reached out to Apple for comment and did not hear back.
Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY) has submitted multiple offers for Warner Bros. Discovery, including a bid of $24, which was rejected as being too low. Warner Bros. Discovery said it would explore offers after receiving bids from Paramount Skydance.
While it's unknown if Apple wants to buy the entire company or just pieces like the company's large film and TV library or HBO Max streaming platform, a purchase could be among the largest by the tech giant ever.
Apple's largest acquisition to date is its 2013 purchase of Beats Electronics for $3 billion.
Bloomberg reports that 21.1% of HBO Max customers also subscribe to Apple TV, the lowest of a group of platforms from four interested parties that includes Netflix (45%), Paramount+ (29%) and Peacock (23.2%).
Apple recently rebranded its streaming platform and raised prices, items that, along with the Formula 1 deal, could show increased focus on growing subscriber figures and boosting the content on the platform.
Read Also: Warner Bros. Discovery Raises Streaming Prices A Month After CEO Said Plans Were ‘Way Underpriced’
Who Buys Warner Bros. Discovery?
Apple making a purchase for Warner Bros Discovery would also come after Senior Vice President Eddy Cue recently said the company was not looking for deals to boost its streaming platform.
While Cue said Apple prefers to build than buy, he said he wouldn't rule out future deals, as reported by 9to5Mac.
Apple has preferred to launch its own originals, but a library full of content could be enticing to boost the streaming platform. 9to5Mac also notes that Apple was interested in buying HBO from AT&T Time Warner years ago.
Another company that said it would rather build than buy was Netflix, with co-CEO Ted Sarandos shutting down some of the speculation the company would bid on Warner Bros. Discovery.
“It’s true that historically, we have been more builders than buyers,” Sarandos said.
Sarandos said the company is open to M&A opportunities, but has growth plans that will help the company without making purchases. The Netflix co-CEO also said the company has "no interest in owning legacy media networks," which would suggest that the streaming giant would only buy pieces from Warner Bros. Discovery.
Warner Bros. Discovery has a planned split that will create two companies, one for the film and TV studios and one with cable channels. The planned split could make the sale of certain assets easier than from a company with no plans to split up segments.
Paramount Skydance is interested in acquiring the entire company and is likely the top option, while other parties would likely only be bidding on film and TV assets.
Warner Bros. Discovery said it would share information, including financial,s with interested parties that sign non-disclosure agreements. Time will tell who ends up buying part or all of the company.
Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Hits 52-Week Highs
Warner Bros. Discovery shares closed Thursday up 3.51% to $21.25, with the stock hitting a new 52-week high of $21.56 during the intraday trading session. Shares are now up 99.3% year-to-date.
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