Jan 7 (Reuters) - Warner Bros Discovery's board unanimously turned down Paramount Skydance's revised bid despite a $40.4 billion financing guarantee from Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. The move
A history of Warner Bros - from old Hollywood to streaming era
Warner Bros Discovery: Timeline of Mergers, Acquisitions, and Transformations
April 23 (Reuters) - Warner Bros Discovery shareholders backed the company's proposed $110 billion merger with Paramount Skydance, according to preliminary results of the vote on Thursday, but cast an advisory vote against executive compensation plans tied to the deal.
With shareholder approval secured, attention now turns to regulatory authorities, with both Washington and London expected to examine the merger's impact on competition.
Here is a timeline from the founding of Time Inc and Warner Bros to the company's latest breakup and potential sale.
Early Foundations and Innovations
Date Event
1923: The Birth of Warner Bros
1923 Warner Bros was founded by brothers Harry,
Albert, Sam and Jack Warner as a film studio
in Hollywood. It revolutionized cinema with
the introduction of synchronized sound in
films
1969: The Kinney National Acquisition
1969 Kinney National Company, a conglomerate that
later transitioned into media, buys Warner
Bros-Seven Arts and later spins off its
non-media businesses
1972: The Launch of HBO
1972 HBO is founded by Charles Dolan with backing
from Time. It was the first U.S.
subscription-based cable network, offering
uncut, commercial-free movies and live
sports, pioneering premium cable television
Mergers and Expansion
1990: Time Inc and Warner Communications Merge
1990 Time Inc merges with Warner Communications
in a $14 billion deal, hailed as a "marriage
of content and distribution", creating Time
Warner, then the largest media company in
the world
1996: Turner Broadcasting Acquisition
1996 Time Warner merges with Turner Broadcasting,
gaining Cartoon Network, CNN, TNT and a vast
film library of classic films
2000: AOL and Time Warner Merge
2000 Time Warner merges with AOL, forming AOL
Time Warner, the largest merger in history
at the time, aiming to marry traditional and
digital media
2002-2004: AOL Time Warner Unravels
2002 AOL Time Warner merger begins to unravel as
AOL's value collapses with the launch of an
SEC investigation, prompted by allegations
of accounting irregularities and inflated
revenue reports at AOL
2003 CEO Steve Case resigns from AOL Time Warner
2004 Time Warner sells Warner Music to a private
equity group led by Edgar Bronfman Jr. for
$2.6 billion
Divestitures and New Directions
2009: Cable and AOL Spin-offs
2009 Time Warner fully spins off Time Warner
Cable, which had already been partially
separated in 2007, ending its role in cable
distribution
2009 Time Warner spins off AOL
2013: Exit from Publishing
2013 Time Warner spins off Time, its magazine
division, which includes Time, People,
Fortune and Sports Illustrated, marking its
formal exit from publishing
Telecom and Streaming Era
2016-2018: AT&T Acquisition
2016 AT&T announces acquisition of Time Warner
for $85 billion
2018 AT&T completes its acquisition of Time
Warner after regulator approval, renaming it
WarnerMedia
2021-2022: WarnerMedia and Discovery Merge
2021 AT&T announces it will spin off WarnerMedia
and merge it with Discovery Inc to create a
new standalone media company
2022 WarnerMedia and Discovery complete their
merger in a $43 billion deal
Recent Developments and Future Outlook
2025: Strategic Shifts and Acquisition Offers
June 9, 2025: Company Split Announcement
June 9, Warner Bros Discovery announces it will
2025 separate into two companies — one focusing
on streaming and studios businesses, while
the second will house its cable TV assets
October-November 2025: Paramount Skydance Bids
October 21, Warner Bros Discovery's board rejects a
2025 Paramount Skydance offer of nearly $60
billion, or $24 per share, a source familiar
with the matter exclusively tells Reuters.
The company says it is weighing a potential
sale amid interest from several suitors
November Warner Bros Discovery's board wants
18, 2025 Paramount Skydance to sweeten its bid to $30
per share, valuing the company at $74.34
billion, Axios reports
November Warner Br
