South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), the world’s third-largest public pension fund, is sitting on an unrealized gain of more than $60 million from its stake in Warner Bros.
Discovery Inc., a timely wager that has paid off as the media giant becomes a central player in a looming industry consolidation.
The fund accumulated the bulk of its position earlier this year when the stock was trading near multi-year lows, a move that coincided with growing market speculation that the owner of the Harry Potter and Batman franchises was a likely takeover target.
With Netflix Inc. and Paramount Global now circling the company, Warner Bros. Discovery shares have surged, rewarding the pension fund’s contrarian timing.
According to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, NPS held roughly 3.74 million shares of Warner Bros. Discovery at the end of the third quarter.
Data from financial analytics platform WhaleWisdom indicates about 96% of those shares were purchased in the first quarter of 2024, when U.S. markets were under pressure.
The fund’s estimated average cost basis was $10.63 per share. The stock closed at $27.23 on Dec. 8, implying an unrealized gain of approximately $62 million.
The investment represents a notable turnaround for an asset that had lost about 90% of its value from its 2021 peak, weighed down by a declining cable-TV business and a heavy debt load.
Analysts say the steep selloff, coupled with industry-wide pressure to consolidate in the competitive streaming era, made the company a compelling target.
“Warner Bros. Discovery was pricing in a lot of distress, but its library and studios have inherent strategic value,” said Lee Hyun-woo, an analyst at Samsung Securities. “The NPS appears to have identified a significant market overcorrection.”
The pension fund’s paper profit on Warner Bros. contrasts with a recent downturn in another of its major media holdings, Netflix.
NPS owns about 9.27 million Netflix shares, a position it has held since 2014 with a split-adjusted cost of $11.99. Netflix shares have retreated in recent days on news of its interest in Warner Bros. and a hostile counterbid from Paramount, but remain far above the fund’s purchase price, closing at $96.82 on Dec. 8.
The NPS also maintains stakes in other U.S. media heavyweights, including Walt Disney Co. and Fox Corp., giving it broad exposure to an entertainment sector that is rapidly reshaping itself through mergers and acquisitions.
The fund’s successful bet on Warner Bros. Discovery underscores how large, long-term investors are navigating—and profiting from—the volatility and consolidation sweeping through global media.
