Paramount gains on report Netflix explored acquisition at some point (update)
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Update 2:40pm: Adds details on Paramount approach from story in October.
Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) rose 0.5% on Wednesday after climbing as much as 4.3% 
amid a report that Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) has looked at purchasing the media company for its movie studio.
Netflix (NFLX) also looked at MGM before Amazon (AMZN) purchased it for $8.5 billion, according to a Business Insider report that took a deep-dive into the streaming giant's M&A strategy. The long story cited people familiar with Netflix's strategy.
The Insider item didn't say when Netflix (NFLX) looked at Paramount (PARA) or if it was still interested.
Bloomberg reported in October that Netflix (NFLX) explored a deal for Paramount Pictures, the company's film studio, not long before the Pandemic started. Netflix wanted the studioâs library and its lot, though it wasn't interested in its cable networks so the discussion didnât go anywhere, according to the report, which cited people familiar.
The story comes after the NY Post reported on Tuesday that Paramount's (PARA) sale of BET may be in trouble as the likely leading bidder is balking at the sale price of $3 billion.
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