Soo Kim approached by Warner Bros. Discovery shareholder about CNN buy, FT reports

New York hedge funder Soo Kim, founder of Standard General, has been approached by at least one Warner Bros. Discovery shareholder about buying CNN, according to a Financial Times report. Kim has been in talks about potentially buying or investing in WBD’s cable assets, which include CNN, TNT, Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, people briefed on the matter told the FT. The networks are slated to be spun off into a separate company as Netflix has agreed to buy WBD’s studio and streaming business in a $72 billion deal.

Paramount Global’s Skydance unit has submitted a hostile bid to take over the entire company, a move that WBD has publicly opposed. Warner Bros. Discovery’s board has unanimously urged shareholders to reject Paramount Skydance’s $78 billion proposal, arguing the offer is not a superior one to Netflix’s deal and raising concerns about financing and strategic alignment. The company has said several potential buyers expressed interest in its TV assets, though it did not name any names.

The Financial Times report frames Kim as a veteran of investing in distressed assets and businesses, a profile that has earned him the label of a “vulture capitalist” in some circles. His public track record includes bets on casino properties and media platforms, and his portfolio has grown through a string of acquisitions and reconfigurations. In the past decade, Standard General constructed a portfolio that included a stake in Bally’s casinos and related ventures, and Kim has signaled a willingness to pursue challenged assets with the potential for debt reduction or strategic repositioning.

Within the media landscape, Kim’s potential interest comes as WBD seeks to unlock value from its cable networks through a spin-off, while the company navigates a competitive bidding environment around its broader assets. Netflix’s deal to acquire WBD’s studio and streaming business would leave the remaining cable assets in the spun-off company, with the market watching how the new structure might affect cash flow, debt service, and audience reach.

Kim’s possible involvement would align with a pattern of activist or opportunistic investors targeting cable groups and local-television leaders, a domain where Standard General previously built credibility by guiding complex restructurings and capital moves. A successful investment or participation by Kim could provide a vote of confidence for a bundled set of cable channels facing heavy debt loads and audience fragmentation, even as Netflix pursues a major consolidation in the industry.

The backdrop to these developments includes WBD’s ongoing spin-off plan for its cable networks, Netflix’s $72 billion purchase of the studio and streaming operations, and Paramount Skydance’s bid to buy the entire company. Paramount has argued that its offer would deliver strategic scale and regulatory benefits, while WBD has countered that the financing and structure of the bid fail to meet the bar of a superior proposal. Ellison family-backed Paramount Skydance has signaled it would cover a substantial breakup fee if investors sided with the bid, though WBD contends the proposal carries significant risks and costs for shareholders.

For markets and observers, the episode adds to a broader trend of private investment firms positioning themselves to capitalize on distressed or consolidating media assets. As the television business recalibrates around streaming, live sports, and franchise content, any new equity support for CNN’s cable networks could influence how buyers value the remaining assets after a potential spin-off. Investors will be watching not only the pricing of CNN and related networks but also how the spinoff’s capital structure and governance interact with the parent company’s remaining businesses.

In sum, while Netflix has secured a high-profile, long-term arrangement for WBD’s studio and streaming assets, the reported outreach to Soo Kim underscores ongoing interest from investors in the company’s cable-asset portfolio and signals that the strategic options for Warner Bros. Discovery remain fluid as the industry moves through a period of consolidation and debt management.