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Paramount Skydance Launches $30-a-Share Hostile Bid for All of Warner Bros. Discovery

Paramount argues its all-cash bid is a quicker, surer alternative to Netflix’s asset deal.

Overview

  • The unsolicited tender offers $30 in cash per share for the entire company, valuing Warner Bros. Discovery at about $108.4 billion, and is open until January 8, 2026 unless extended.
  • Financing includes new equity backed by the Ellison family and RedBird Capital and $54 billion in committed debt from Bank of America, Citi and Apollo.
  • Netflix has a signed agreement to acquire Warner’s studios and HBO/HBO Max for $27.75 per share in cash and stock, contingent on a spin-off of the cable networks and carrying a $5.8 billion breakup fee.
  • Paramount says its proposal delivers roughly $18 billion more cash to shareholders and pledges to maintain theatrical releases, increase content spend, combine Paramount+ with HBO Max and target over $6 billion in cost synergies.
  • Both pathways face heavy antitrust scrutiny, with President Trump saying the Netflix deal “could be a problem,” and bipartisan lawmakers and Hollywood unions voicing concerns that point to a prolonged, multi-jurisdictional review.