Overview
- Paramount Skydance opened a $30-per-share all-cash tender for all of Warner Bros. Discovery, valuing the company at $108.4 billion and directly challenging Warner’s board-approved sale of its studios and HBO/HBO Max to Netflix.
- Netflix’s agreement, valued at roughly $72 billion excluding debt, covers Warner’s studio and streaming assets after a spinoff of cable networks, whereas Paramount’s offer includes the entire company, including CNN, TBS and Discovery.
- Shareholders have until Jan. 8 to tender under Paramount’s offer, and Warner Bros. Discovery said it will advise investors on the bid within 10 business days while keeping its recommendation for the Netflix deal in place.
- Paramount says its tender is backed by Ellison family and RedBird equity plus about $54 billion in committed debt from Bank of America, Citi and Apollo, with filings noting participation by Affinity Partners and Middle Eastern sovereign funds.
- Netflix’s agreement includes a $5.8 billion breakup fee, and reports say Warner would owe Netflix about $2.8 billion if it walks away, as both competing transactions draw antitrust scrutiny and political pushback, including President Trump’s warning the Netflix deal “could be a problem.”