Overview
- Paramount Skydance sent a letter urging Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders to support its $30-per-share all-cash tender, arguing it offers greater certainty and a faster path to closing than Netflix’s agreement.
- Netflix’s signed deal covers only the studios, HBO and streaming assets for roughly $72 billion ($27.75 per share in cash and stock) and would close after WBD spins off its cable networks into Discovery Global.
- Under disclosed terms, WBD would owe Netflix a $2.8 billion termination fee to walk away, and Netflix has matching rights if the board deems Paramount’s bid superior.
- Paramount’s financing, as reported in filings and coverage, includes Ellison family capital, Middle East sovereign wealth funds, and participation from RedBird Capital and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, drawing conflict-of-interest scrutiny.
- Regulatory and political stakes are high, with antitrust review expected and President Trump saying any sale should involve separating CNN, while analysts debate the value of WBD’s cable networks that Paramount seeks to acquire in full.