Topline
Netflix on Tuesday announced it has revised its bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s studios and streaming business into an all-cash offer in an apparent effort to fend off Paramount Skydance’s hostile bid to acquire Warner.
Netflix’s modified bid now offers all WBD share holders $27.75 per share entirely in cash for Warner’s studio and streaming business.
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Key Facts
In a press release, Netflix said its $83 billion cash-and-stock deal to acquire Warner’s studio and streaming business—including HBO Max—has been altered to an all-cash offer.
The streaming giant said this would offer “enhanced certainty” to Warner’s shareholders who no longer have to be concerned about Netflix’s fluctuating stock price.
The company said its revised offer will allow the deal to move faster, and it expects WBD shareholders to vote on it by April 2026.
Netflix’s original bid, which was approved by Warner’s board, offered each WBD shareholder $23.25 in cash and $4.50 worth of shares of Netflix common stock for each WBD stock they owned.
Under the revised terms, WBD’s shareholders will receive $27.75 per share they own in cash if the deal is approved.
What Do We Know About Paramount’s Offer?
In December, a few days after Netflix’s deal was announced, Paramount Skydance announced it was mounting a hostile bid and offering $108 billion to acquire all of WBD’s assets, including its TV business, which is set to be spun off before the Netflix deal is completed. Paramount’s offer valued the whole of Warner Bros. Discovery at $30 per share. Paramount’s bid was an all-cash offer—something the David Ellison led company argued made its deal superior. Later in December, WBD’s board urged the company’s shareholders to reject Paramount’s offer, calling it “inferior” to Netflix’s. Warner’s board pointed out that the hostile bid included a $40.65 billion equity offer for which “there is no Ellison family commitment of any kind.” In response, Paramount issued a revised bid a few days later, which included an “irrevocable” financial backing of $40 billion from Larry Ellison, the Paramount CEO’s billionaire father. Despite this, Warner’s leaders once again urged shareholders to reject the bid earlier this month.
Tangent
If the Netflix deal is approved by its shareholders, WBD will move forward with its plan to split the company into two entities. The Warner Bros. arm which will be acquired by Netflix includes, the company’s TV and film studio businesses—including Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group and DC Studios—along with its streaming platform HBO Max. Discovery Global will be spun off into a separate publicly traded company that will include the company’s television networks, including CNN, TNT, Discovery and others.
What To Watch For
Last week, Paramount announced it was moving forward with its hostile bid and launching a proxy fight for WBD’s board. The CBS-owner said it would be nominating directors to the WBD’s board who would be willing to engage with Paramount’s offer. The Ellison-led company said it will also challenge the Netflix deal if Warner’s board seeks a vote on it before the shareholder meeting.
Further Reading
Larry Ellison Guarantees $40 Billion In Paramount’s Warner Bros. Discovery Bid (Forbes)
Paramount Launches Proxy Fight For Control Of Warner Bros. Discovery (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2026/01/20/netflix-revises-warner-bros-deal-to-83-billion-all-cash-offer-to-fend-off-paramount/
