Paramount has made a hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, challenging Netflix, which reached a $72 billion takeover deal with the company just days ago.
Paramount said Monday that it is going straight to Warner Bros. shareholders with a $30 per share cash bid for the entirety of the company including its Global Networks business, asking them to reject the deal with Netflix.
That is the same bid that Warner Bros. rejected in favor of the offer from Netflix in a merger that would alter the U.S. entertainment landscape.
Paramount criticized the Netflix offer, saying it “exposes WBD shareholders to a protracted multi-jurisdictional regulatory clearance process with an uncertain outcome along with a complex and volatile mix of equity and cash.”
Paramount said it had submitted six proposals to Warner Bros. Discovery over a 12-week period.
“We believe our offer will create a stronger Hollywood. It is in the best interests of the creative community, consumers and the movie theater industry,” Paramount Chairman and CEO David Ellison said in a statement. “We believe they will benefit from the enhanced competition, higher content spend and theatrical release output, and a greater number of movies in theaters as a result of our proposed transaction,”
On Friday, Netflix struck a deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, the Hollywood giant behind “Harry Potter” and HBO Max. The cash and stock deal is valued at $27.75 per Warner share, giving it a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, including debt. The transaction is expected to close in the next 12 to 18 months, after Warner completes the previously announced separation of its cable operations. Not included in the deal are networks such as CNN and Discovery.
But President Donald Trump said Sunday that the deal struck by Netflix to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share.
The Republican president said he will be involved in the decision about whether the federal government should approve the $72 billion deal.
Paramount’s tender offer is set to expire on Jan. 8, 2026, unless it’s extended.
Shares of Warner Bros. and Paramount jumped between 5% and 6% at the opening bell on Monday. Shares of Netflix edged lower.
Chapman writes for the Associated Press.
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