Overview
- Paramount Skydance went public with a hostile all-cash proposal to acquire the entire Warner Bros. Discovery portfolio, positioning it as a superior alternative to Netflix’s earlier agreement focused on Warner Bros. studios and HBO/HBO Max.
- Reported valuations for the Paramount bid range from about $103 billion to $108.4 billion, including an offer of $30 per WBD share in cash, versus Netflix’s roughly $83 billion plan centered on content and streaming assets.
- Financial markets moved on the news, with WBD shares jumping more than 7% after Paramount’s announcement and Netflix shares falling more than 3%.
- Political and industry blowback intensified, as Senator Elizabeth Warren warned the takeover would violate antitrust principles and Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos pledged to maintain traditional theatrical release patterns.
- Paramount Pictures’ official X account was briefly altered in an apparent hack the day after the bid, while reporting described Ellison family wealth and investors from the Middle East, plus Affinity Partners, as backing the offer.