For the moment, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) investors have a growth stock to cheer.

Shares in the media giant surged nearly 36% Friday after The Wall Street Journal reported that Paramount Skydance is preparing a bid to acquire WBD. The offer, said to be primarily in cash, is reportedly backed by the Ellison family. David Ellison — son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison — recently completed a merger of Paramount Global with his Skydance Media, a deal that officially closed just last month.

Representatives for Paramount Skydance declined to comment to The Hollywood Reporter, while Warner Bros. Discovery did not immediately respond.

WBD stock, which opened the day below $13, climbed to more than $17 at its intraday peak.

The news caps an eventful week for the elder Ellison. On Wednesday, Larry Ellison’s fortune swelled by roughly $100 billion thanks to a major jump in Oracle’s market value, briefly putting him ahead of Elon Musk as the world’s wealthiest individual.

According to WSJ, the Paramount Skydance bid would target all of Warner Bros. Discovery. That detail is significant given that CEO David Zaslav is already moving to divide the company into two separate businesses, a process now expected to finish by April 2026. Under that plan, Zaslav would continue leading “Warner Bros.” — housing the studios, HBO, and HBO Max — while longtime CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels would head a new company made up of legacy cable networks and Discovery+.

Warner Bros. Discovery itself was created in April 2022 through the merger of Zaslav’s Discovery, Inc. and AT&T’s WarnerMedia. The deal saddled the company with massive debt, much of which has since been reduced. Most of what remains is expected to be spun off with the cable division.

Any attempt to merge Paramount Skydance with Warner Bros. Discovery would likely face heavy regulatory scrutiny. Still, Ellison has one potential advantage: unlike other mega-mergers, this deal wouldn’t force him to part with a broadcast network. Paramount controls CBS, but Warner Bros. Discovery operates strictly in streaming, cable, film, and premium TV.

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