Copyright Reuters
The video streaming service has hired Moelis & Co, the investment bank that advised Skydance Media on its successful bid for Paramount Global, to evaluate a prospective offer, two of the sources said. Netflix also has been granted access to the data room, which contains the financial details needed to make a bid, according to two of the sources familiar with the matter. Sign up here. Warner Bros Discovery and Moelis declined to comment. Netflix could not be reached for comment. Owning Warner Bros' studio business would give Netflix control over some of Hollywood's most successful stories and characters, including the Harry Potter and DC Comics franchises. Warner Bros' prolific television studio also produces many of Netflix's hits, including original series like "Running Point," "You" and "Maid." HBO and its companion streaming service would add more prestige dramas, and subscribers. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos told investors last week that while the company is traditionally "more builders than buyers," it does evaluate acquisitions based on criteria such as the size of the opportunity and whether it would strengthen the company's entertainment offerings. Sarandos indicated Netflix would not be interested in acquiring Warner Bros Discovery's cable television networks, which include CNN, TNT, Food Network and Animal Planet. "We've been very clear in the past that we have no interest in owning legacy media networks," Sarandos said in the company's third-quarter investor video. "There is no change there." The company said its board would consider whether to move forward with its planned split, which would separate the Warner Bros film and television studios, HBO and the companion HBO Max streaming service from its television business, or pursue a sale of all or parts of the company. Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles, Dawn Kopecki in New York and Amy-Jo Crawley in London; additional reeporting by Milana Vinn in New York; editing by Kenneth Li and Richard Chang
