Overview
- Netflix announced an agreement to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming assets, including HBO/HBO Max, while TV networks such as CNN would be spun off into a separate company called Discovery Global.
- Reporting cites a deal value of roughly $72 billion in equity, or about $83 billion including debt, with Warner shareholders to receive cash plus Netflix stock.
- Both companies expect an intensive antitrust review lasting 12 to 18 months, and Netflix committed to a reverse termination fee reported at about $5 to $5.8 billion if regulators block the transaction.
- President Donald Trump highlighted Netflix’s “very large market share,” said he will take part in the approval decision, and weighed in after Paramount—now controlled by the Ellison family—lost the bidding.
- Netflix leaders said Warner films would continue to play in cinemas but reach streaming faster, while critics such as Senator Elizabeth Warren and director James Cameron warned of market power and potential harm to theatrical releases.