Paramount Skydance is doubling down on its bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery to avoid losing to Netflix, upping the ante for a deal that could significantly change the media and entertainment landscape.
The entertainment company made an unsolicited, all-cash takeover offer of $108.4 billion for Warner Bros. on Monday, three days after Netflix announced an $82.7 billion acquisition.
Paramount CEO David Ellison said Warner Bros. deserves an opportunity to “consider our superior all-cash offer for their shares in the entire company.”
“We believe the WBD Board of Directors is pursuing an inferior proposal which exposes shareholders to a mix of cash and stock, an uncertain future trading value of the Global Networks linear cable business and a challenging regulatory approval process,” Mr. Ellison said in a statement. “We are taking our offer directly to shareholders to give them the opportunity to act in their own best interests and maximize the value of their shares.”
Netflix’s deal on Friday to buy a big chunk of Warner Bros. was approved by the boards of both companies. Paramount’s all-cash, $30-per-share offer went around the Warner Bros. board and straight to shareholders.
Netflix is set to acquire HBO Max, Warner Bros.’s film studio and streaming service, a deal that would close in 12 to 18 months. This would come after Warner Bros. completes its plans to split its cable business, which includes TNT and CNN, anticipated to be done by the third quarter of 2026.
Unlike Netflix, Paramount has offered to buy all of Warner Bros., including the movie studio, its streaming service HBO Max, and its cable channels.
With close ties to the Trump administration, Mr. Ellison questioned the sale process in a letter pointing to the favorable treatment of Netflix.
At the Sunday Kennedy Center Honors, President Trump praised Netflix’s co-chief executive, Ted Sarandos, while also expressing mild reservations about the proposal.
“Netflix is a great company. They’ve done a phenomenal job. Ted is a fantastic man,” he said, “I have a lot of respect for him, but it’s a lot of market share, so we’ll have to see what happens.”
The Netflix deal brought about antitrust questions, as the Trump administration and Europe would likely evaluate concerns that Netflix will have monopoly-like power in the marketplace.
Mr. Trump said he would be “involved” in the regulatory review of the transaction, as he and Mr. Sarandos met in the Oval Office last week before the deal was announced.
A day after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, bashed the president on the show “60 Minutes,” owned by Paramount, Mr. Trump fired back.
“My real problem with the show, however, wasn’t the low IQ traitor, it was that the new ownership of 60 Minutes, Paramount, would allow a show like this to air,” he said on Truth Social. “THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP, who just paid me millions of Dollars for FAKE REPORTING about your favorite President, ME!”
If the deal is not approved, Netflix would pay Warner Bros. $5.8 billion, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday. Warner Bros. said it would owe $2.8 billion to Netflix if it called off the acquisition to pursue another deal.
• Mary McCue Bell can be reached at mbell@washingtontimes.com.
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