Exclusive | David Ellison may disclose bid for Warner Bros. Discovery in coming days: sources

Media mogul David Ellison is preparing to finally submit an official merger bid for Warner Bros.Discovery, On The Money has learned – but don’t expect wedding bells and rose petals anytime soon.Ellison – who has stayed eerily silent since reports leaked last month that his media giant Paramount Skydance might bid for WBD – could disclose a takeover bid as soon as this week for the owner of the Warner Bros.

studio, HBO and CNN, sources close to the situation said.The process is fluid, and it’s also possible that a bid will get delayed once again or not submitted at all, the sources added.If an offer does surface, insiders noted that talks could take a decidedly persnickety turn as Ellison begins haggling with David Zaslav, the wily, deal-savvy CEO of WBD. As I reported this week, “Zas” has signaled that he wants $30 a share and maybe more for his company — and that Ellison’s reported $20-a-share offer is a nonstarter.The stock on Tuesday closed at $17.98.As I have also reported, Ellison has been in talks with buyout giant Apollo Global Management to finance any bid, as his dad Larry Ellison – the world’s second-richest person with a net worth approaching $400 billion – may have a limited appetite for media deals. If the Ellisons and their partners at media conglomerate RedBird Capital do respond with a publicly disclosed bid in the coming days, don’t count them meeting Zaslav’s dream bid, sources close to the situation said.“The Ellisons aren’t going to overpay for this dumpster fire,” a source close to Ellison told On The Money.Of course, in any merger dance, both sides like to control the narrative to gain an edge.

In the case of Ellison, the plan is to persuade Zaslav’s board that WBD needs to be sold, and that there are no other viable buyers given antitrust concerns that will negate a Netflix or Amazon coming in to pay top dollar for the assets.And with CEOs, money can make even the most hardened rivalries melt.

if Elliso...