Paramount Skydance Enters Historic $108.4 Billion All-Cash Bid to Acquire Warner Bros Discovery, Surpassing Netflix’s $82.7 Billion Offer
A monumental bidding war has erupted across the entertainment industry as Paramount Skydance publicly announced an all-cash $108.4 billion tender offer to acquire Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), raising the stakes significantly after Netflix’s $82.7 billion bid for the company’s Streaming and Studios division. Paramount’s proposal, detailed in its official press release available through PR Newswire, signals a bold attempt to purchase the entirety of Warner Bros Discovery rather than select business units, offering $30 per share, significantly higher than Netflix’s $27.5 offer.
Paramount emphasized that unlike Netflix, which seeks only to acquire the Streaming and Studios branch including HBO, HBO Max, and all associated film, television, and gaming divisions, it intends to purchase the full corporation, encompassing both Streaming and Studios and the Global Linear Networks business. The company further revealed that this public tender offer follows six prior proposals submitted privately over the past twelve weeks, all of which were rejected by Warner Bros executives without what Paramount describes as “meaningful engagement.” As a result, Paramount has taken its offer directly to shareholders, arguing that they deserve the opportunity to evaluate what the company deems “clearly superior” terms compared to the Netflix proposal.
In the statement, CEO David Ellison stressed that the Paramount bid offers greater certainty and expedited completion due to being entirely cash-backed, stating that the competing Netflix offer exposes shareholders to valuation risks tied to stock components, uncertainties surrounding future performance of the Global Networks cable business, and a far more challenging regulatory approval process. Paramount asserts that its acquisition path is more realistic and pro-competitive, while claiming that a Netflix and WBD merger would reinforce a dominant 43 percent global SVOD market share, particularly straining competition in European markets where Netflix already holds the top position. Paramount’s press release argues that such consolidation risks increased consumer prices, reduced pay for creators and talent, weakened theatrical markets, and heightened execution risk due to Netflix’s lack of experience in large-scale mergers.
Ellison further stated that a Paramount acquisition would “create a stronger Hollywood” and better protect the interests of the creative community, the consumer ecosystem, and theatrical exhibitors. Paramount positions itself as the more stable and industry-aligned steward of Warner Bros Discovery’s future.
This evolving contest between Paramount and Netflix represents one of the most significant corporate standoffs in entertainment history, with either transaction poised to become the largest acquisition ever recorded. The outcome will reshape the global entertainment landscape, with direct implications across streaming, film and television production, licensing, and Warner Bros Games’ IP portfolio. WBD, already undergoing dramatic transformation throughout the 2020s with its 2021 split and the restructuring of various business units, now stands at the center of a high-stakes corporate realignment that could define the streaming and media sector for decades.
However, regardless of which bidder ultimately prevails, the approval process will be long and complex as regulators across the United States, Europe, and other international jurisdictions assess antitrust concerns and consolidation risks. The industry will now watch closely as this unprecedented bidding war unfolds and as Warner Bros Discovery approaches what may be the final chapter of its multi-year corporate reshaping.
What are your thoughts on Paramount’s aggressive bid? Which company would be the better long-term steward of Warner Bros Discovery’s film, TV, and gaming ecosystem? Share your perspective.
