By Dawn Chmielewski and Dawn Kopecki
(Reuters) -Warner Bros Discovery has received preliminary bids for the media company from Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix, according to a source familiar with
the matter.
The bids represent the first step in the possible sale of all or part of the century-old Hollywood studio, whose entertainment brands include HBO, CNN and the Warner Bros film studio.
Warner Bros Discovery did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Comcast and Paramount Skydance declined to comment. Netflix could not be reached for comment. The New York Times first reported the development.
Paramount is expected to bid for all of Warner Bros Discovery, including its cable television networks. The company's bid is backed by the studio's controlling shareholder, billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, who is among the world's richest men.
Reuters exclusively reported that Warner Bros Discovery's board rejected a mostly cash offer of nearly $24 a share for the company, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Netflix and NBCUniversal's corporate parent, Comcast, are interested in Warner Bros' film and television studios and HBO, but not Warner Bros' basic cable networks, which include CNN, HGTV and TNT.
Warner Bros Discovery previously announced plans to split the company into two publicly traded companies, separating its studios and streaming business from its fading cable networks.
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
