IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Warner Bros. Discovery says new Paramount bid could best Netflix offer

In December, Netflix announced a $72 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s film studio, along with HBO and the HBO Max streaming service.
Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif.; Paramount Pictures lot in Los Angeles.
Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif.; the Paramount Pictures lot in Los Angeles.Getty Images
By Allie Canal and Steve Kopack
Listen to this article with a free account

Warner Bros. Discovery said Tuesday that Paramount Skydance’s revised bid for the entire company, including its cable networks, could be preferable to Netflix’s deal for its studio and streaming business.

The updated offer raises the purchase price to $31 a share from $30 — a deal that would value Warner Bros. Discovery at roughly $77 billion. The proposal also includes a $7 billion reverse termination fee if regulators block the deal, along with reimbursement for Warner Bros. Discovery's potential cost to cancel its deal with Netflix.

The board of directors at Warner Bros. Discovery said in a news release that it has not made a final decision as to which offer is better. Netflix would have four business days to submit another offer if the board decides to go with Paramount's bid.

The statement hinted that WBD may try to get Paramount to increase its bid still, saying that it would "engage further" with the CBS owner.

"The Netflix Merger Agreement remains in effect, and the Board continues to recommend in favor of the Netflix transaction and is not withdrawing or modifying its recommendation," WBD said.

Media analysts at research firm MoffettNathanson suggested in a recent client note that an offer at or around $34 a share would effectively end the bidding war.

Netflix declined to comment on the latest developments.

Paramount said it "welcomes" the announcement from Warner Bros. Discovery's board and "looks forward to continuing to engage constructively."

Tuesday’s announcement from WBD comes after months of contentious back-and-forth talks between the company and Paramount.

The bidding war effectively began at Paramount’s urging after it made an unsolicited offer to buy the entire company in late 2025.

In October, WBD announced publicly that it was exploring its options “in light of unsolicited interest,” which is Wall Street speak for opening up the sale process.

For the next few months, Paramount and WBD exchanged competing offers. By the time late November came around, bidders, including Paramount and Netflix, had submitted increased offers.

In December, Netflix announced a $72 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s film studio, along with HBO and the HBO Max streaming service.

On Jan. 20, WBD announced it had reached a definitive deal with Netflix. Paramount and its management, however, remained undeterred, following up with more unsolicited bids.

The announcement from Warner Bros. Discovery adds another twist to one of the most complicated and politically sensitive media deals in years.

Paramount Skydance is led by David Ellison, the son of Larry Ellison, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle. The Ellisons are the controlling shareholders of Paramount, and Larry Ellison has a close relationship with President Donald Trump.

WBD had rejected multiple Paramount offers in the lead-up to Tuesday's announcement, categorizing the Netflix proposal as the superior bid for shareholders. As a result, the Ellison-run company escalated its effort into a hostile takeover attempt, prompting Netflix to amend its bid to an all-cash offer widely seen as a move to fend off rival interest.

Warner Bros. shareholders are set to vote on the pending transaction on March 20.

Still, no matter what WBD decides, the deal must be approved by government regulators — a situation complicated by Trump's relationship with the Ellisons.

Earlier this month, Trump told NBC News that he planned to stay out of the situation. And earlier this week he called on Netflix to fire one of its board members, former Biden administration adviser Susan Rice, or "pay the consequences."

Outside of Trump's concerns, some antitrust experts have said the deal could be blocked on its own merits.

"Netflix–Warner Brothers is a merger that by all outward appearances does not need to happen," John Mark Newman, a former senior antitrust official who served at both the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), told NBC News.

"From an antitrust perspective, it’s a deal that should raise serious, serious concerns and probably be challenged and blocked," Newman continued. "Doing so would be good for a whole bunch of people, not just consumers ... but producers, directors, actors, movie theater owners. A lot of people would benefit from blocking this merger.”

For its part, Netflix has maintained that any deal with WBD would benefit consumers by lowering the costs of bundled streaming services.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has also argued that the deal would create jobs, telling lawmakers in a hearing earlier this month that the streaming giant's deal with WBD would “create more economic growth."

“This is not a typical media merger where you end up with what’s called the Noah’s Ark problem — two of everything,” Sarandos said. “We are buying a company that has assets that we do not, and we will keep investing in those.”

In the past week, the Netflix executive has also been making the case that the deal will be better for Hollywood, addressing ongoing concerns that the streaming service would not preserve a 45-day theatrical exhibition window for Warner Bros. movies.

“It is likely you will have even more of an outcome of high-quality films for the theaters if this deal goes through,” he told Bloomberg.

Add NBC News to Google
Allie Canal

Allie Canal is a business reporter for NBC News.

Steve Kopack

Steve Kopack is a senior reporter at NBC News covering business and the economy.