Warner Bros. Discovery is putting itself up for sale and Apple is interested in buying the media giant extensive back catalog of movies and TV shows, reports Bloomberg.
Warner Bros. Discovery owns Warner Bros., DC Entertainment, Discovery Channel, HBO, CNN, Cartoon Network, and several other entertainment brands that over the years have pumped out thousands upon thousands of films and TV shows. The company has express interest in being wholly acquired by another media giant, like Paramount Skydance, or selling its assets on a piece by piece basis.
Warner Bros. has already received three offers from Paramount Skydance Corp., ranging from $19 to almost $24 a share, two people familiar with the matter said. All of the offers were rejected as being too low.
The publication says its sources tell it that Apple has expressed interest in acquiring the company’s huge TV and film library, in addition to its production assets. Meanwhile, other piece of the business would either be retained or sold to other buyers, such as Amazon, Comcast, and Netflix, all of which have expressed interest in such a sale.
If Apple can make a deal, it would significantly increase its library of content. Its Apple TV streaming service has faced criticism for not having an extensive library of content, as the service has focused on creating original content instead of buying from other studios.
Although Apple is reportedly interested in the Warner Bros. back catalog, Apple services head Eddy Cue, while appearing on “The Town” podcast, had only this to say about the possibility of such a deal:
I never say no to anything, but we’re not actively looking at buying any company of any size. We like building things ourselves.
[…]
Look, we talk to a lot of folks, we like learning and talking and listening is a good way to learn. But again, I never say no to anything in the future, but it’s not our approach. We like building things, we like doing things ourselves and creating them, and we think that that’s how we can really stand out and do unique things.
[…]
I would be surprised, but again, I never say no to anything because you never know what happens in the world.
We likely won’t hear anything about a possible Apple – Warner Bros. Discovery for a while, as the film studio is expected to ask potential suitors to sign nondisclosure agreements sometime this week.