Overview
- Paramount Skydance offered $30 per share in cash for the entire Warner Bros. Discovery, valuing it at about $108.4 billion and taking the bid directly to shareholders in a hostile tender that runs through January 8, 2026 unless extended.
- Netflix announced a definitive agreement to buy Warner Bros.’ studios and streaming assets for $27.75 per share in a cash‑and‑stock deal valued at $82.7 billion including debt, contingent on a spin‑off of cable networks and an expected 12–18 month regulatory review, with a $5.8 billion breakup fee.
- Paramount says its proposal provides superior value and greater closing certainty versus Netflix’s plan, asserts it made six bids over 12 weeks without meaningful engagement from WBD, and includes cable outlets such as CNN, TNT and TBS that Netflix’s deal excludes.
- Political and antitrust scrutiny intensified, with President Trump saying the Netflix transaction "could be a problem," Senator Elizabeth Warren calling a Paramount–Warner tie‑up a "five‑alarm antitrust fire," and unions and lawmakers signaling tough review by the Justice Department and potentially CFIUS.
- Shares moved on the news, with Warner Bros. Discovery up roughly 6%–7%, Paramount rising about 3%–4%, and Netflix falling around 3%–5% during Monday trading.