Paramount Makes $108-Billion Hostile Bid For Warner Bros

The fight over the future of Hollywood just got nastier.

Paramount Skydance Corp. launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. at $30 a share in cash on Monday, just days after the company agreed to a deal with Netflix Inc. The offer values Warner Bros. at $108.4 billion, including debt.

The bid compares with Netflix’s offer of $27.75 in cash and stock. Paramount’s offer is for the entirety of Warner Bros., while Netflix is only interested in the Hollywood studios and streaming business. 

“WBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer for their shares in the entire company,” Paramount Chief Executive Officer David Ellison said in a statement. “Our public offer, which is on the same terms we provided to the Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors in private, provides superior value, and a more certain and quicker path to completion.” 

Paramount, the parent of CBS, MTV and other media businesses, instigated the battle several months ago when it made multiple offers for Warner Bros. The company decided to put itself up for sale in October and received several rounds of bids, including from Netflix and Comcast Corp.

Under terms of the Dec. 5 deal announced with Netflix, Warner Bros. will continue with plans to spin off its cable TV networks, such as CNN, TNT and the Discovery Channel, before the planned merger closes. 

Paramount had privately argued that its $30 a share offer was greater than Netflix’s, although that depends on the value investors place on the shares they receive in the spin off. According to a person close to the Paramount bid, they are valuing the spinoff at about $2 a share. 

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Geetha Ranganathan estimates that the cable channels are worth $4 for every Warner Bros. share, making the Netflix bid higher.

Paramount said its offer for the entirety of Warner Bros. gives shareholders $18 billion more in cash than the Netflix bid. Paramount has also argued that its transaction is more likely to be approved by regulators because Netflix has a much larger share of the streaming TV market than Paramount+.

“We’re really here to finish what we started,” Ellison said, speaking on CNBC.

Either winner is likely to face an extended review by regulators all over the globe. 

When asked about the deal on Sunday, President Donald Trump said the Netflix transaction will “go through a process” and that “it is a big market share. It could be a problem.”

If Warner Bros. does break its current agreement, it will be required to pay Netflix a $2.8 billion fee, one typically borne by the new acquirer. Netflix has agreed to pay $5.8 billion to Warner Bros. if the deal falls through on its end or doesn’t win regulatory approval.

According to a person familiar with Warner Bros.’ thinking, it will take an offer of about $33 a share to get the company to reconsider the Netflix sale.

In a regulatory filing, Paramount said financing for its bid included $11.8 billion from the Ellison family, $24 billion from three Middle East sovereign wealth funds, and additional funds from RedBird Capital Partners and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners.

The company also said it didn’t anticipate a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, a federal authority that scrutinizes deals with international funding.

“The Warner Bros Discovery acquisition is far from over,” said Ross Benes, an analyst at Emarketer. “Netflix is in the driver’s seat but there will be twists and turns before the finish line. Paramount will appeal to shareholders, regulators, and politicians to try to stymie Netflix. The battle could become prolonged.”

Bets on prediction marketplace Polymarket showed a 16% chance of Netflix closing the acquisition by the end of 2026, down from around 23% before Paramount made the hostile bid.

Warner Bros. shares were up 5.8% to $27.6 as trading got underway in New York on Monday. Paramount was up 5% while Netflix was down 4.7%.