Barry Diller approached Warner Bros. Discovery about buying CNN - WSJ

Investing.com -- Billionaire media and tech investor Barry Diller approached Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) to express interest in buying CNN, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The approach occurred before Warner's June announcement about plans to split the company in two and before it formally put itself up for sale last fall, one person familiar with the situation said.

No serious action was taken on Diller's inquiry, and it was not presented to the Warner board of directors, people close to the company said.

Warner Bros. Discovery is currently selling its movie and television studios and HBO Max platform to Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) and plans to spin its cable networks, including CNN, into a new company called Discovery Global.

At the same time, Paramount is continuing to pursue its approximately $77.9 billion tender offer for all of Warner Bros. Discovery, including the cable networks, as it competes with Netflix for the assets.

A Warner spokesman stated that CNN "was not and is not for sale" and remains an important part of the planned Discovery Global company.

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