Stranger things were seen this week. From an acquisition announcement that could result in one of the largest entertainment houses to new IPO possibilities in 2026, this week presented numerous opportunities that impacted the market.
- Overall, the S&P 500 experienced a positive turn despite a challenging start to the week, closing 0.3% higher.
- The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9% this week, driven by gains in Micron and Warner Bros. Discovery, as well as a generally positive turn in tech stocks.
- The Dow Jones and the Russell 2000 closed 0.5% and 0.8% higher, respectively, this week.
So, a positive to mark the end of the first week of December, some brief holiday cheer. There might be more, considering that the Federal Reserve looks more optimistic than previously for a December rate cut.
Oil, which showed a 2.6% gain this past week, closed at $60 on Friday, December 5.
Silver edges closer to the $60 mark, with more than 3% gain this past week and a record 22% increase this past month. Gold also continues its upward journey, closing at $4,243 per troy ounce, a 0.6% increase over the week.
In the coming week, the market will be looking forward to Ukraine and Russia peace talks, earnings reports for Oracle, Costco, Chewy, Diginex, Lululemon, and Broadcom.
Another critical decision that should be made this week concerns the expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits, the same ones that contributed to the prolonged government shutdown. It will be a crucial vote in Congress with the looming deadline of December 15, before health care premiums rise to new highs for millions of Americans.
Netflix wins bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery
Netflix agreed to acquire Warner Bros Discovery, including its “film and television studios, HBO Max, and HBO.”
Yes, the one that gave us Harry Potter, “Friends,” “Game of Thrones,” and “The Big Bang Theory.” Now, all of that will be streaming alongside “Stranger Things,” “Bridgerton,” “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” and, of course, “BoJack Horseman,” provided there are no antitrust issues that declare the deal a monopoly in the streaming industry.
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Until then, the deal, expected to close in Q3 2026, will come into effect after WBD successfully separates its streaming services and Global Networks division into two separately publicly traded companies. The global division, which will become Discovery Global, will include WBD’s CNN, Discovery+, and more.
According to the terms of the deal, Netflix valued WBD’s shares at $27.75, including both cash and stock transactions, resulting in a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion. A generous $5.8 billion breakup fee is also in the mix, courtesy of Netflix, should the deal not go through.
Related: Netflix quietly drops Warner Bros. Discovery cable channels in sale
The bidding war, which included Paramount, Skydance, Comcast, and Netflix as top bidders, has been highly beneficial in increasing WBD’s stock price over the past quarter, up 115%. I say this past quarter, as talk of a WBD takeover started in September with PSKY’s increasing interest, ending with Netflix as the final winner.
On Dec. 5, WBD’s stock closed 6.3% higher, marking an 8% weekly and 15% gain this past month. In contrast, Netflix’s stock has seen a more significant decline in response to the news, down 6% this week and 9% over the month.
Paramount Skydance’s stock plummeted 9.8% on Dec. 5 following the news.
KKR in talks to acquire Arctos Partners
In the private equity sector, KKR, a global equity and investment company, is eyeing an acquisition of Arctos Partners, a private investment firm with significant stakes in professional sports teams, including the globally recognized football teams Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain, according to the Financial Times.
With more than $700 billion in assets, KKR is currently one of the bigger players in private equity. This acquisition is its latest in expanding its existing portfolio by including sports investments, an increasingly growing investment opportunity, as a new product offering for its customers, according to FT.
Although the talks are at an advanced stage, they may still collapse as negotiations continue.
What’s happening in the world of AI and tech?
Meta cuts spending on metaverse
From spending on acquisitions to decreased spending on AI advancement, Meta Platforms is set to reduce its budget for the metaverse by as much as 30% and redirect the funds to support other projects within its Reality Labs Division, Bloomberg reported.
Meta intends to spend more on expanding its AI wearables, anticipating increased competition from Apple, which is also developing wearable devices.
The company’s stock was up 3.9% this past week, closing 1.8% higher on Friday, Dec. 5. This suggests that investors are more optimistic about the decision, considering that Meta’s Reality Labs Division has already lost more than $70 billion since 2021.
According to reports, this reduction may also result in job cuts early in 2026.
SpaceX considers IPO?
In other news, following Anthropic, another potential IPO may be in the works. SpaceX, which is considering a secondary share sale that would boost its valuation to $800 billion, is also exploring a potential initial public offering in 2026, according to The Wall Street Journal.
This valuation will also place it ahead of OpenAI, currently valued at $500 billion, according to a CNBC report. Elon Muskdenied reports of raising funds but has made no official statement regarding the probability of SpaceX’s IPO.
The New York Times sues Perplexity
As the world continues to rely on artificial intelligence for summaries, news reports, research, and writing, there has also been an increase in copyright cases filed against AI companies, such as OpenAI.
Adding to the list is The New York Times. It recently filed a copyright infringement case against AI startup Perplexity, which boasts of a partnership with football giant Cristiano Ronaldo.
According to The Times, it has asked Perplexity for the past 18 months to refrain from using its content before negotiating an agreement. However, Perplexity’s failure to do so pushed the newspaper to file an official complaint, its second such lawsuit against an AI company.
In the past, it filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft for their alleged unlawful use of The Times’ content for training their AI systems.
Perplexity also faces accusations of copyright infringement from Dow Jones and The Chicago Tribune. The Times shared a map showing current cases faced by AI companies, including more than 40 worldwide.