Warner Bros Discovery has reportedly paused merger talks with Paramount

Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASDAQ: WBD) is trending up at writing following news that it has paused mergers talks with Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA).

WBD representative refrained from commenting

The mass media giant was reported to have seriously engaged in discussions with $PARA over a potential merger in January.

But anonymous sources told CNBC this morning that the talks have since cooled off. A WBD representative, however, refused to comment on that report.

Last week, WBD refrained from offering full-year guidance for free cash but said an increase in content spend will be a headwind for FCF generation in 2024.

Still, Wall Street currently has a consensus “overweight” rating on $WBD.

Paramount Global will report Q4 earnings tomorrow

Note that Skydance Media is still interested and currently conducting due diligence for a potential merger with Paramount Global, as per people familiar with the matter.

Comcast is exploring a commercial partnership with the Nasdaq-listed firm as well, they added. In January, film producer Byron Allen also proposed to buy $PARA for $14 billion.

The news arrives a day before Paramount Global is scheduled to report its financial results for the fourth quarter. Consensus is for it to lose 5 cents a share versus 8 cents per share of earnings a year ago.

$PARA is down roughly 50% versus its 52-week high at writing.