In one of the most dramatic corporate battles in Hollywood history, Netflix on Thursday declined to raise its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, clearing the way for Paramount Skydance to clinch a $111 billion acquisition of the legendary studio.
The Warner Bros. Discovery board declared Paramount’s revised all-cash offer of $31 per share a “superior proposal” to Netflix’s $83 billion deal that would have acquired only the streaming and studio businesses. Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters called the deal a “nice to have at the right price, not a must have at any price.”
If completed, Paramount CEO David Ellison will assemble a sprawling entertainment empire encompassing CNN, HBO, CBS, MTV, multiple movie studios, and two major newsrooms. The deal still faces significant antitrust scrutiny from regulators, and a WBD shareholder vote is scheduled for March 20. Netflix stock surged 10% in after-hours trading on the news, while Democratic lawmakers warned the consolidation could harm consumers. The political dimension loomed large – Sarandos visited the White House on Thursday, while Ellison has cultivated close ties with the Trump administration.
