Warner Bros. Discovery faces activist investor who backs Paramount Skydances rival bid over Netflix deal

Activist investor Ancora Holdings is gearing up to fight Warner Bros.Discovery’s proposed $72 billion sale of its movie and TV studios and HBO Max streaming service to Netflix, according to a report.The Cleveland-based firm, which manages roughly $11 billion in assets, has built a stake valued at about $200 million and is expected to announce Wednesday that it favors Paramount Skydance’s rival all-cash bid for the entire company, The Wall Street Journal reported.Paramount has offered $30 per share in cash for all of WBD, valuing the company at roughly $78 billion, as it presses a hostile challenge to the Netflix deal.Ancora, which owns less than 1% of WBD’s stock, emailed CEO David Zaslav on Tuesday saying it is considering launching a proxy fight if the board does not negotiate with Paramount over its rival all-cash offer, the Journal reported.The activist investor also plans to continue buying Warner shares, according to the report.People familiar with the matter told the Journal that if Ancora proceeds with nominating directors, it would seek to replace board members with ties to Zaslav.Ancora has privately questioned whether Zaslav favored the Netflix deal in order to obtain an executive role with the streaming company after the transaction closes, the Journal reported.Ancora has raised antitrust concerns about the Netflix transaction, which it has described as “uncertain and inferior,” and has taken aim at the planned Discovery Global spinoff that would saddle the cable-TV networks with roughly $17 billion in debt despite declining viewership, according to a presentation from the activist reviewed by the Journal.In the same presentation, Ancora defended Paramount’s viability as a buyer, citing the track record of David Ellison and his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, and said it expects Paramount would secure swift antitrust approval.Paramount said Tuesday it has sweetened its hostile bid for Warner Bros.

Discovery, adding a so-called “ti...