It’s not every day that a billionaire investor makes a $500 million wager on a company trying to pull off a complex takeover. When three closely followed investors move in the same direction in the same quarter, it’s worth taking a closer look.
That’s what happened to Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
Third Point founder Dan Loeb opened a new holding of 20 million WBD shares worth around $533.2 million as of June 30, according to 13F data, as 24/7 Wall St reported. It was Loeb’s largest new position of the second quarter.
He was not alone.
David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital created a new stake in the company during the fourth quarter worth roughly $59.9 million, 24/7 Wall St reported. George Soros’s Soros Fund Management raised its holdings by 396,080 shares during the fourth quarter to 1,489,109 shares worth around $39.7 million.
At quarter end, those declared positions combined were worth nearly $633 million.
The convergence is remarkable because these investors developed their names in distinct ways. Loeb is known for activist investing, Einhorn for value and short-selling, and Soros for macro investing.
But all three left June with more of the same Hollywood company.
Warner Bros. Discovery attracts a $533 million bet
The enormity of Loeb’s move is eye-catching.
The presented statistics showed that Third Point had no WBD shares in its previously declared portfolio but had 20 million shares by the end of June.
This is not a tentative entry.
Related: Paramount’s Warner merger deal faces serious new problem
Loeb’s $533.2 million stake indicates an average quarter-end reporting price of around $26.66 a share, GuruFocus noted. Einhorn’s stated position comes out to roughly the same valuation, as you would anticipate given holdings worth the same June 30 market price.
The human story behind the investment is more familiar than the regulatory documents suggest. Warner Bros. Discovery has entertainment properties that have been in American living rooms and movie theaters for generations. Its portfolio includes HBO, Warner Bros., DC, and CNN.
But streaming has changed the economics of getting that entertainment to viewers’ screens.
That change has left traditional media businesses struggling with the fall in linear TV, costly streaming investments, and heavy debt. The data say that WBD has $29.7 billion in net debt, while company shares were up 137% over the past year.
What the 3 billionaire investors did
- Dan Loeb: Bought 20 million WBD shares worth about $533.2 million.
- David Einhorn: Bought roughly 2.25 million shares worth $59.9 million.
- George Soros: Added 396,080 shares, taking his disclosed position to about 1.49 million shares worth $39.7 million.
- Combined disclosed value: Approximately $632.8 million as of June 30.
- Common thread: All three were WBD buyers during the second quarter.
So the three investors aren’t relying solely on Batman, HBO, or some other blockbuster. They’re playing against the backdrop of a restructure of ownership and monetization of some of America’s best-renowned entertainment properties.
“We remain confident that our agreed upon sale to Paramount Skydance will be completed,” Warner Bros. Discovery management said on its second-quarter call, according to the supplied report.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s takeover creates the bigger story
Investors face a major complication if they want to just copy the billionaires. A 13F doesn’t say why someone bought a stock.
The reports disclose certain long positions in U.S.-listed companies as of a specific date. They don’t abandon the investment thesis, and since the above positions are as of June 30, any of the managers could have adjusted their exposure since then.
That distinction is important, especially for WBD, because the company’s corporate destiny is in turmoil.
Warner Bros. Discovery has reviewed strategic alternatives and is selling to Paramount/Skydance. The deal is not likely to conclude right away, according to the article, with closing contingent upon the settlement of legal proceedings or a milestone of June 1, 2027.
There was already another big twist.
The offered material says Netflix made a bid in December 2025, but the deal was later canceled, and Netflix had to pay a $2.8 billion termination payment in the first quarter of 2026.
That makes it a corporation whose value to shareholders isn’t only about how many people sign up for streaming services or how the next Warner Bros. movie does.
The last transaction is critical.
That may help explain why skilled event-driven and value-oriented investors might be interested, but their 13F filings don’t actually show their objectives.
And that uncertainty is what makes the trade so exciting.
Loeb, Einhorn, and Soros are not necessarily taking the same positions. Someone might see upside from a merger, someone might perceive cheap assets, or someone might be managing the position as part of a bigger portfolio plan.
What investors can say with certainty is simpler: Three prominent money managers independently decided WBD deserved more capital during the same quarter, and one committed more than half a billion dollars.
Wall Street’s billionaire class has added another storyline for a media corporation that is already undergoing one of the largest upheavals in the industry.
Related: Warner Bros. sues Amazon over an exec who left 16 months early
