Overview
- Paramount Skydance pushed its $30-per-share hostile tender deadline to Feb. 20 after reporting only about 168.5 million WBD shares tendered, roughly 6.8% of outstanding stock.
- WBD said more than 93% of shareholders have rejected Paramount’s approach, reiterating unanimous board support for Netflix’s $27.75-per-share all-cash bid for the studios and streaming business tied to a planned Discovery Global spinoff.
- Paramount filed preliminary proxy materials to urge investors to vote down the Netflix deal and challenge the Discovery Global spinoff, arguing debt allocation could reduce payouts; it has also sued in Delaware to force additional disclosures.
- Netflix’s amended offer includes assuming $10.7 billion of WBD net debt and about $42.2 billion in bank financing commitments, while Paramount’s full-company bid remains backed by Larry Ellison’s roughly $40.4 billion equity commitment.
- WBD disclosed valuation ranges for the Discovery Global stub that contradict Paramount’s claim of minimal value, and both bids face lengthy antitrust reviews that point to a shareholder vote targeted for spring and extended regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe.