Film & TV news: Paramount launch hostile bid for Warner Bros Discovery amidst Netflix's accepted offer
To have avoided hearing the news of the bidding war over cinematic superpower Warner Bros Discovery, you’d simply have to be living under a rock.
The media giants, who own the rights to the likes of Harry Potter and the DC Superheroes, have recently agreed on terms with Netflix to buy out the WBD studio and HBO, but it seems as though Paramount Skydance are looking to get involved as well.
Film News Blitz’s Joe Matthews is here to take a deep-dive into the bidding war that could decide the fate of one of your favourite films or TV series.
You thought Netflix had already bought WBD?
It seemed that Netflix had already finalised their deal to buy out WBD and HBO, but whilst their bid had been agreed upon, it had not been 100% complete, and now Paramount are here, with a bigger and extremely interesting offer.
Netflix’s offer was to the sum of $82.7 billion for the acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery studios and HBO, meaning that the cable networks would be spun off.
On the other hand, Paramount, who already run their own cable networks, would acquire those made by WBD as well, including CNN, HGTV and Discovery. This does, however, come at a different fee.
The hostile offer reaches the number of $108.4 billion, and brings up a number of very intriguing possibilities.
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So, what actually happens now?
Well, Paramount’s bid does several things to shake up the situation.
Mainly, and this is something I haven’t explained until now, their bid is ‘hostile’, which means it isn’t aimed at the board of WBD, but instead at shareholders.
Netflix’s bid of $82.7 billion means that shareholders would each get $27.75 per share, but Paramount's would tally up to $30 per share.
Therefore, should enough shareholders prefer this new rival offer, it could mean the Netflix offer could, in as dramatic fashion as many of their shows, collapse.
This argument has been put forward by Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, the driving force behind their late bid, and he also argued that their offer is more likely to receive regulatory approval.
The purchasing politics
In terms of gaining approval from regulation boards, both deals have come under great scrutiny.
Ellison has argued that Paramount’s bid is much more likely to gain approval, as the company is already a legacy-media brand, and so acquiring another one in WBD, would not create competition or monopoly issues.
On the other hand though, Netflix are a streaming company, who already dominate the industry, so should they branch out into Paramount territory, it could create serious risks.
Furthermore, President Donald Trump has got himself embroiled in the situation, saying he would be ‘involved in making the decision’ as to whether Netflix’s bid was to gain approval.
Since Paramount’s bid became live, it’s thought that the White House prefers them as an option, despite a rant by Trump denouncing Paramount’s reliability over a 60 Minutes segment.
Ultimately, Paramount’s bid expires on January 8, 2026, pending an extension, so it could be weeks before the final outcome is realised.
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