TLDR
- Paramount Skydance bid $108.4 billion in cash for Warner Bros. Discovery at $30 per share, exceeding Netflix’s $72 billion offer
- The Ellison family and RedBird Capital will fund the entire $40.7 billion equity portion with simplified financing
- Netflix’s agreement splits WBD assets while Paramount proposes buying the complete company
- A Netflix-WBD merger would control approximately one-third of US streaming, raising antitrust flags from President Trump
- Paramount is taking its offer directly to shareholders after CEO David Zaslav stopped responding to negotiations
Paramount Skydance launched a hostile $108.4 billion takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery on Monday. The all-cash offer prices shares at $30, surpassing Netflix’s deal announced just days ago.
Warner Bros. Discovery shares jumped 7% following the announcement. Paramount stock rose more than 6% while Netflix dropped 4.5%.
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc., WBD
Netflix’s Friday agreement valued Warner Bros. Discovery at $27.75 per share through a $72 billion cash-and-stock package. Shareholders would receive $23.35 cash plus $4.50 in Netflix shares under that arrangement.
Paramount previously made three unsuccessful bids for the media company. The most recent came in October at $20 per share for $58 billion total.
David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO, rejected those earlier proposals. The company questioned Paramount’s ability to secure necessary financing and considered the valuations insufficient.
Paramount Restructures Financing to Win Shareholder Trust
Paramount overhauled its funding approach for Monday’s bid. The Ellison family and RedBird Capital pledged to backstop the entire $40.7 billion equity requirement.
Larry Ellison, Oracle’s founder and executive chairman, joins his son David in financing the transaction. Bank of America, Citi, and Apollo Global Management committed $54 billion in debt.
Previous Paramount offers relied on complicated funding arrangements across multiple investors. The streamlined structure addresses Warner Bros. Discovery’s earlier concerns about deal certainty.
Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds participate in the equity financing. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Company, and Qatar’s Qatar Investment Authority all contributed capital.
These investors agreed to surrender all governance rights. They get no board representation or voting power on their investments. Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners accepted identical terms.
This arrangement excludes the transaction from Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. jurisdiction. One major regulatory obstacle disappears under this structure.
Netflix Faces Antitrust Headwinds on Competing Offer
Netflix’s proposal divides Warner Bros. Discovery into separate entities. The streaming platform acquires film studios, television production, HBO, and HBO Max for $72 billion.
Remaining assets spin off into Discovery Global, a standalone public company. CNN, TNT Sports, and Discovery Channel would trade independently starting mid-2026.
David Ellison values those cable networks at $1 per share. Warner Bros. Discovery executives privately estimate $3 per share for the same assets.
A Netflix-WBD combination would control roughly one-third of US streaming activity based on JustWatch measurements. This concentration triggers antitrust scrutiny.
President Trump commented on the Netflix deal Sunday. “Well, that’s got to go through a process, and we’ll see what happens,” he stated. “But it is a big market share. It could be a problem.”
The Justice Department must approve any Netflix acquisition. Both boards agreed to terms, but federal regulators determine final outcomes.
Paramount’s complete company purchase eliminates spinoff complications. “We are offering shareholders $17.6 billion more cash than the deal they currently have signed up with Netflix,” Ellison explained on CNBC Monday.
Paramount submitted a revised $30 per share proposal on December 1. Warner Bros. Discovery requested modifications to earlier offers, which Paramount provided.
Zaslav never responded to the updated terms, according to Ellison. This silence prompted Paramount’s direct appeal to shareholders.
Ellison messaged Zaslav that $30 per share doesn’t represent Paramount’s maximum bid. The company signals willingness to increase its offer further.
Netflix’s cash-and-stock structure exposes shareholders to market volatility. Paramount argues its all-cash approach delivers superior certainty and value versus Netflix’s proposal.
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