Paramount launched a hostile bid Monday to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery just days after Netflix announced it was acquiring WBD’s streaming and studio assets. In a new bid, Paramount said it would offer $30 per share for the conglomerate, $2.25 more than Netflix’s deal.
Paramount said its offer “provides a superior alternative to the Netflix transaction.” In a news release, the company warned that a deal with Netflix risks entangling the studio in a complex regulatory process.
“WBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer for their shares in the entire company,” Paramount CEO 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.”
As Straight Arrow News previously reported, Paramount’s hat has been in the ring from the start, but WBD rejected the offer. Now, it seems, Paramount is stepping back up to the plate.
WBD’s deal with Netflix
The fight for WBD began after the company announced a plan to split into two divisions — one for entertainment and streaming, and another centered on news and sports.
After unveiling that strategy, WBD began receiving unsolicited bids for its entertainment assets. Following those bids, CEO David Zaslav paused the split and evaluated alternative options.
That review led to Netflix’s offer, which includes WBD going through with the split and selling its entertainment assets to Netflix.
With the acquisition, Netflix would become a powerhouse streaming and entertainment company, operating not only its own platform but also HBO and HBO Max. The deal, however, still needs federal regulatory approval.
Under the Netflix deal, WBD’s cable channels, including CNN, would be spun off into a separate company. Paramount’s offer includes the cable channels.
Trump’s involvement
After the news of Netflix’s acquisition, President Donald Trump said he intends to play a role in any merger. He noted the deal “could be a problem,” noting that “it’s a lot of market share.”
“Netflix is a great company. They’ve done a phenomenal job. Ted is a fantastic man,” he said, referring to Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos. “I have a lot of respect for him, but it’s a lot of market share, so we’ll have to see what happens.”
Trump noted he met with Sarandos in the Oval Office before the announcement. Trump, however, also has a close relationship with Ellison and his father, Oracle chairman Larry Ellison.
In an interview with CNBC, David Ellison said he was “incredibly grateful for the relations that I have with the president,” noting that he believes Trump “believes in competition.”
Among the financial backers of Paramount’s offer for WBD is Affinity Partners, the private equity firm founded by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
However, Trump put Paramount on blast Monday morning after its “60 Minutes” featured an interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who is resigning from Congress after a bitter falling out with the president.
Trump claimed on Truth Social that since Paramount merged with David Ellison’s Skydance Media, “60 Minutes” has “actually gotten WORSE!”
He complained that “the new ownership of 60 Minutes, Paramount, would allow a show like this to air. THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP.”
