Spielberg’s Pal David Geffen Could Score Jaw-Dropping 200% Windfall If Warner Bros Stock Fetches $25 Apiece: Report

• The media mogul is reportedly eyeing a $500 million profit from the sale of WBD stock he bought at $7-$8 per share earlier this year.
• He reportedly acquired the shares before the news of Paramount Skydance’s bid for Warner Bros, which subsequently morphed into a bidding war. 
• WBD stock has more than doubled this year.

David Geffen, the billionaire music and media mogul, scooped up Warner Bros Discovery shares just before reports of Paramount Skydance’s bidding for the company emerged, and is set to make $500 million in profit if all goes according to plan.

Geffen, 82, purchased about 30 million shares of Warner Bros. at roughly $7 to $8 a share, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources.

WBD Bidding War

The Journal broke the news in September that Paramount Skydance was preparing to bid for Warner Bros., sending WBD stock 29% higher on Sept. 11. The day before, it had closed at $12.54.

Subsequently, Warner rejected the offer, but said in October that it had launched a strategic review and a bidding process for the company. More recently, reports have emerged that Comcast and Netflix, along with Paramount Skydance, are also in the running.

Did Retail Traders Stand A Chance?

Given the ongoing bidding, WBD stock is in the spotlight among retail investors. It has gained about 82% since the Journal’s September report, and 114% for the year. 

While Geffen seems to have nailed timing, retail investors would have gained the maximum upside from buying WBD shares in April. The stock hit its lowest point for the year – $7.69 – on April 8, and hypothetically, the gains would be over 200%.

On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment for WBD has broadly climbed over the past six months and oscillated between ‘extremely bullish’ and ‘bullish’ over the past week. In the last three months, the watcher count for the ticker has increased by 17%, indicating rising investor interest amid an impending buyout.

Who is Geffen?

Geffen is a co-founder of Hollywood studio DreamWorks Pictures, along with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg. He had earlier founded Geffen Records and Asylum Records, where he launched and shaped the careers of major artists like the Eagles, Joni Mitchell, Guns N’ Roses, and Nirvana.

Geffen has an estimated net worth of $9.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

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