Paramount Skydance

Advertisement | Remove ads. Paramount Skydance (PSKY) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) face fresh merger uncertainty as speculation about the CNN sale collides with conflicting reports from media insiders. While regulatory pressure fuels talk of potential asset divestitures, retail investors remain bullish on Paramount’s strategy. Retail investors are closely watching Paramount as a theory over a possible CNN divestiture adds another layer of uncertainty to its proposed combination with Warner Bros. The discussion follows reports citing comments from Paramount Chief Legal Officer Makan Delrahim about the company’s willingness to consider various options amid an antitrust challenge led by California.

Advertisement | Remove ads. Delrahim had said Paramount could consider a range of measures in an effort to resolve the legal dispute surrounding its planned acquisition of WBD. That comment quickly fueled headlines suggesting CNN could be sold as part of a settlement strategy. Paramount and WBD agreed to a transaction valued at roughly $110 billion, but regulatory opposition continues to create uncertainty around the deal. 4% higher overnight, ahead of Friday. The CNN-sale narrative soon faced resistance from media insiders, including Brian Stelter and Dylan Byers.

Stelter, who is a chief media analyst at CNN, posted on X saying, “There is “zero truth” to the notion that Paramount CEO David Ellison is prepared to sell CNN in connection with the WBD transaction, a Paramount source told me this morning, amid a flurry of misleading headlines about the matter. “CNN is key to Ellison,” the Paramount source added, citing the comments in his recent NYT op-ed. Advertisement | Remove ads. ” On Wednesday, reports said Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison is considering moving the company out of California if Attorney General Rob Bonta refuses for a settlement in the deal.

However, Bonta has rejected the strategy, calling it an attempt to pressure California into approving a transaction the state considers unlawful. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock turned to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’ tererritory the previous day. Advertisement | Remove ads. A user said , “Wow, i had no idea that cnn numbers were that abysmal…THAT is eye opening. But it generates $600M in Ebitda per year and that is on what looks like its last leg. ” Another user said , “Under David Ellison CNN can be rescued and restored to Greatness again over time.