*Warner Bros. Discovery has declined a $108 billion bid from David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance, opting instead to move forward with the previously announced Netflix acquisition, Variety reports.
Paramount confirmed it will continue lobbying shareholders directly for its $30-per-share hostile bid, signaling no immediate plans to increase the offer. The media giant remains dedicated to its massive transaction with Netflix, which would transfer the Warner Bros. studios, HBO, and HBO Max to the streaming platform for $27.75 per share.
Warner Bros. Discovery announced its board “has unanimously determined that the tender offer launched by Paramount Skydance (‘PSKY’) on December 8, 2025, is not in the best interests of WBD and its shareholders and does not meet the criteria of a ‘Superior Proposal’ under the terms of WBD’s merger agreement with Netflix announced on December 5, 2025.” The board “recommends that WBD shareholders reject PSKY’s offer.”
According to the board’s shareholder letter, the Netflix arrangement provides better terms while Paramount’s proposal “provides inadequate value and imposes numerous, significant risks and costs on WBD.” The letter accused Paramount of misleading shareholders about financing, stating the company “has consistently misled WBD shareholders that its proposed transaction has a ‘full backstop’ from the Ellison family. It does not, and never has.”
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The WBD board noted that Paramount’s recent proposal involves a $40.65 billion equity commitment without a guarantee from the Ellison family, instead depending on a revocable trust controlled by tech billionaire Larry Ellison, David Ellison’s father. The board argued that the trust cannot serve as a secured commitment because its assets and liabilities are undisclosed and subject to change. Additionally, Paramount’s offer “can be terminated or amended by PSKY at any time prior to its completion,” making it fundamentally different from a binding merger agreement.
The $82.7 billion Netflix deal is pending regulatory approval and represents one of Hollywood’s most substantial corporate mergers. Netflix would acquire valuable properties, including DC Comics characters Batman and Superman, “Game of Thrones,” and franchises spanning “Harry Potter” to “Dune” and “Barbie,” while cable assets like CNN and TNT would remain separate.
The transaction faces considerable regulatory challenges, with Rep. Darrell Issa warning Attorney General Pam Bondi it would create a company controlling over “30 percent share of the streaming market: a threshold traditionally viewed as presumptively problematic under antitrust law.”
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