Paramount has launched an all-cash tender offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for $30 per share, directly challenging the previously announced deal between WBD and Netflix.
The surprise hostile bid sets the stage for an intense showdown between Paramount — controlled by Larry Ellison, a close ally of former President Donald Trump — and streaming powerhouse Netflix as they compete for control of one of Hollywood’s best-known studios.
Netflix stunned the industry last week when it revealed it had reached an agreement to purchase the Warner Bros. studio, prompting fierce backlash from many in Hollywood who fear the implications for the industry’s future. Trump weighed in on Sunday, warning that Netflix’s push to buy Warner Bros. “could be a problem” because it would give the company an outsized share of the film and TV market.
“We’re really here to finish what we started,” David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount, said on CNBC as his company submitted its sixth offer for Warner Bros. since the bidding war began.
Unlike Netflix’s proposal, Paramount’s newest bid includes major cable networks such as CNN, TNT, TBS, and Discovery, placing those assets under a company with longstanding ties to the Trump administration.
The offer values WBD at $108.4 billion — a 139 percent premium over its September stock price of $12.54, when the takeover battle first erupted. By comparison, Netflix’s bid values the Warner Bros. studio at nearly $83 billion, which Paramount has dismissed as “inferior and uncertain.”
“WBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer,” Ellison said.
Warner Bros. has produced some of the most iconic films in cinematic history, including “Casablanca” and “Citizen Kane,” along with more recent smash hits like “The Sopranos,” “Game of Thrones,” and the “Harry Potter” franchise.
Paramount argues its deal would offer far fewer regulatory risks than the Netflix proposal, which it says would leave Netflix controlling roughly 43 percent of global streaming subscribers and facing “protracted regulatory challenges across the world.”
The combined entity would bring together Paramount’s holdings — including Paramount Pictures, CBS, Nickelodeon, and Paramount+ — with WBD’s portfolio, such as HBO Max and key sports rights. Paramount says the merger would yield more than $6 billion in savings while preserving theatrical releases and boosting content investment.
The question of theatrical releases remains a flashpoint for the creative community. Netflix already faces skepticism within Hollywood for its limited theatrical strategies and its role in disrupting traditional industry norms. Many filmmakers and studio veterans view movie theaters as essential to the cultural value and economic health of the industry.
Following news of the Paramount bid, WBD shares jumped more than seven percent on Monday, while Netflix stock declined by more than two percent.
