Overview
- WBD shares closed at $28.79, roughly 4% below Paramount Skydance’s $30-per-share cash tender, reflecting merger-arbitrage pricing ahead of the January 21 deadline.
- Netflix’s board-supported proposal offers $23.25 in cash plus roughly $4.50 in Netflix stock per WBD share, valuing the package at $27.75 and targeting studios and streaming with linear networks slated for a spin-off.
- Paramount Skydance’s hostile bid remains live and fully in cash at $30 per share, reinforced by Larry Ellison’s $40.4 billion personal guarantee and a higher reverse termination fee designed to signal certainty.
- Netflix has refinanced portions of an approximately $59 billion bridge package, adding a $5 billion revolver and up to $20 billion in delayed loans, with about $34 billion still to syndicate.
- Both pathways face intensive antitrust scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe, while WBD’s more than $40 billion debt load and complex integration risks weigh on outcomes alongside key dates on January 20 and 21.