Overview
- Warner Bros. Discovery agreed to sell its film studio and HBO/HBO Max to Netflix in a deal valuing the assets at roughly $72 billion, or $27.75 per share with $23.25 in cash and $4.50 in Netflix stock.
- Paramount Skydance unveiled an unsolicited, all-cash tender offer of $30 per share for the entire company, valuing WBD at about $108 billion and appealing directly to shareholders.
- WBD’s board said it is reviewing Paramount’s proposal but has not changed its recommendation in favor of the Netflix transaction.
- The Netflix agreement excludes WBD’s linear cable networks, requiring a spin-off of those channels, whereas Paramount’s bid would acquire the whole company without separating the networks.
- Regulatory scrutiny is intensifying, with analysts estimating a combined Netflix–HBO Max share near 35% of streaming viewing hours, as theater groups and creative guilds voice concerns and Iger warns about potential pricing power and theatrical impacts.