Overview
- Netflix said it agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery for $27.75 per share, with media reports valuing the deal at roughly $72 billion and CNBC reporting an approximately 85% cash component.
- Netflix projects $2–3 billion in annual cost savings by year three and says it will keep Warner Bros. films in theaters while expanding U.S. production and long‑term spending on original content.
- The Writers Guild of America said the merger should be blocked, Cinema United warned of a potential 25% hit to local box office revenue, and the Directors Guild flagged significant concerns.
- The transaction faces antitrust reviews in the United States and Europe, with early skepticism signaled by some U.S. politicians.
- Warner Bros. Discovery launched a formal sale after rejecting an estimated $60 billion offer from Paramount in October, then received improved bids from Paramount and Comcast as Paramount sought confirmation of an independent special committee overseeing the process.