In an escalation for control of Hollywood’s most storied assets, Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ: PSKY) is believed to have submitted a sweetened bid for Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) as a critical seven-day negotiating window expired Monday. The move represents a final attempt to derail a rival deal from Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) and capitalize on growing regulatory and political headwinds facing the streaming giant.
People familiar with the matter indicate that Paramount, led by David Ellison and backed by the fortune of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, was prepared to increase its all-cash offer to as much as $32 per share. This would significantly exceed its previous $30-per-share proposal and provide a substantial premium over the Netflix deal, which is valued at roughly $27.75 per share and focuses narrowly on Warner’s studio and streaming operations.
Specifics on the revised offer however have yet to be released.
The revised offer comes as the U.S. Department of Justice intensifies its antitrust review of the Netflix proposal. Paramount recently cleared a major procedural hurdle when its own filing satisfied federal Hart-Scott-Rodino requirements, a milestone its executives are using to argue that their bid offers greater closing certainty. Furthermore, Paramount has pledged to cover a $2.8 billion breakup fee that Warner would owe Netflix if it walks away from their existing agreement.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s board, which has previously spurned Paramount in favor of Netflix, reopened talks last week after Netflix granted a temporary waiver. Investors are closely watching for a shift in the board’s recommendation, as the inclusion of a “ticking fee”—designed to compensate shareholders for regulatory delays—and the promise of an all-cash exit for the entire company continue to gain traction among disgruntled stockholders.
Should Paramount succeed, the resulting entity would unite the CBS and Warner libraries, creating a media titan capable of challenging the dominance of big tech. However, analysts warn that any deal of this magnitude remains subject to the shifting whims of a highly politicized regulatory environment.
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