Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos says the streaming giant has little interest, if at all, in bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery.
“Nothing is a must for us to meet our goals that we have for this business,” he said during an after-market analyst call after Netflix unveiled its third quarter financial results, without mentioning WBD directly. The executive’s comments came on the same day the rival major studio’s board of directors said they had received “unsolicited interest” from “multiple parties” as Hollywood anticipates another round of large-scale media industry consolidation.
Sarandos reiterated that organic growth at Netflix was preferred over big acquisitions. “When it comes to M&A opportunities, we look at them, and we look at all of them, and we apply the same framework and lens that we look at when we look to invest. Is it a big opportunity? Is there additional value in ownership,” he told analysts.
“We’re predominantly focused on growing organically, investing aggressively and responsibly into the growth and returning access cash flow to shareholders,” he added. Peters also downplayed any strategy to grow through major acquisitions after earlier industry consolidation.
“None of those mergers were a fundamental shift in the competitive landscape, and we have also seen a wide range of outcomes from such mergers. So watching some of our competitors potentially get bigger via M&A does not change in and of itself, at least our view of the competitive landscape,” Peters added.
As reports point to potential bidding interest in WBD by David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix have also figured in Wall Street chatter around a possible play for a major studio after it confirmed it had launched “a review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value.”
Those strategic options are thought to include continuing with the previously announced plan to split into two companies, Warner Bros. and Discovery Global, a “transaction for the entire company” or “separate transactions for its Warner Bros. and/or Discovery Global businesses,” WBD said earlier on Tuesday.
CNBC on Tuesday reported Warners had rejected an initial bid from Paramount Skydance, opening the way for rival bids from Netflix and Comcast. CNBC added Netflix had no interest in WBD’s legacy media assets, while also potentially looking to keep the Warner Bros. studio and streaming businesses away from a Hollywood rival.
“We’ve been very clear in the past that we have no interest in owning legacy media networks, so there is no change there. But in general, we believe that we can be and we will be choosy,” Sarandos added in comments to analysts.
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