David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, raised his offer to $80 million for Mohawk Day Camp in Westchester County, New York, and still lost the bidding war to a group of hedge fund investors.

Zaslav started the process in July with a $68 million offer through Grandview Ventures, his personally owned investment company — not through Warner Bros. Discovery itself. Bloomberg Law first reported the initial deal in mid-July, which was structured as a stalking horse bid, a bankruptcy mechanism that sets a floor price for other bidders to beat. Beat it they did. Page Six reported that Zaslav eventually pushed the offer to $80 million before losing out to hedge fund buyers at auction (Page Six).

The identity of the winning bidder has not been publicly disclosed, according to Town & Country (Town & Country).

Mohawk Day Camp is not just any camp. Per The Real Deal, it is the most valuable and profitable property among roughly 30 summer camps that landed in bankruptcy after Simad Holdings — owned by brothers David and Michael Shabsels — filed for Chapter 11 in June 2026. A December 2025 appraisal valued Mohawk at $85.8 million, with projected 2026 revenue of $22.85 million. The bankruptcy auction covered both the day camp and the adjacent Mohawk Country Club.

For Zaslav, the interest was personal. His children attended Mohawk, and he described the bid as a family investment reflecting his belief that summer camp can be a wonderful part of a child's growth (Town & Country). This was not a media acquisition or a content play. It was a parent who sent his kids to the place, liked what it stood for, and tried to buy it.

Adam Wallach, a director at Mohawk Day Camp, has said the bankruptcy proceedings are behind-the-scenes matters being sorted out that do not affect campers, staff, or the program itself. In other words, the kids at Mohawk this summer are still swimming, playing, and doing whatever kids do at day camp in Westchester — even as their playground changes hands in federal bankruptcy court.

The Shabsels brothers' camp empire collapse has been one of the more striking business stories of the summer. Thirty camps thrown into bankruptcy, a Hollywood CEO swooping in with a personal fortune, and hedge funders ultimately walking away with the crown jewel. It is the kind of saga that sounds like a pitch meeting — except the pitch lost.