In an attempt to put a stop to the Netflix deal, Paramount has made a counter-offer of US$ 108.4 billion for WBD, US$18 billion more in cash than the Netflix consideration.
Just hours after Netflix officially announced a deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount has made its own all-cash offer to acquire the media giant.
As announced by Paramount, the new offer “provides superior value, and a more certain and quicker path to completion to WBD shareholders”, with US$ 30 per share, mounting up to US$ 108.4 billion.
The Paramount offer for the entirety of WBD provides shareholders US$18 billion more in cash than the Netflix consideration.
David Ellison, Chairman and CEO of Paramount, said: “WBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer for their shares in the entire company. 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. 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. 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.”
In addition to the financial aspect, Paramount claims it “is highly confident in achieving expeditious regulatory clearance for its proposed offer, as it enhances competition and is pro-consumer, while creating a strong champion for creative talent and consumer choice. In contrast, the Netflix transaction is predicated on the unrealistic assumption that its anticompetitive combination with WBD, which would entrench its monopoly with a 43% share of global Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) subscribers, could withstand multiple protracted regulatory challenges across the world”.
“Despite Paramount submitting six proposals over the course of 12 weeks, WBD never engaged meaningfully with these proposals which we believe deliver the best outcome for WBD shareholders. Paramount has now taken its offer directly to WBD shareholders and its Board of Directors to ensure they have the opportunity to pursue this clearly superior alternative”.
Ellison continued, “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. 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. We look forward to working to expeditiously deliver this opportunity so that all stakeholders can begin to capitalize on the benefits of the combined company.”
As of now, the Netflix-WBD deal has been approved and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.
