WBD says Paramount makes higher bid, board will weigh offer against Netflix deal

Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday said it had received a higher takeover offer from Paramount Skydance and will review the new bid under the terms of its existing deal with Netflix.

Last week, WBD announced it would re-engage Paramount in deal talks under a seven-day waiver from Netflix. WBD and Netflix have an agreement to sell the legacy media group’s studio and streaming businesses to the streamer. Paramount is seeking to buy the entirety of WBD.

“Following engagement with PSKY during the seven-day limited waiver period, we received a revised PSKY proposal to acquire WBD, which we are reviewing in consultation with our financial and legal advisors,” WBD said in a statement. “We will update our shareholders following the Board’s review. The Netflix merger agreement remains in effect, and the Board continues to recommend in favor of the Netflix transaction. WBD shareholders are advised not to take any action at this time with respect to the amended PSKY tender offer.”

If WBD deems the new Paramount offer superior, Netflix will have four days to improve its previously agreed-upon bid. Netflix agreed to acquire WBD’s studio and streaming assets for $27.75 per share in December, valuing the assets around $72 billion, with a total enterprise value of approximately $82.7 billion.

Paramount subsequently launched a hostile tender offer to WBD shareholders for $30 per share for all of WBD, which includes linear cable networks such as CNN, TBS, HGTV and TNT and digital assets including Bleacher Report and House of Highlights.

If WBD concludes Paramount’s new offer is superior and Netflix doesn’t alter its bid, Netflix will receive a $2.8 billion breakup fee. Paramount has agreed to fund that fee as part of a previously altered hostile bid.

A combined Paramount-WBD would bring together HBO Max with Paramount+ along with merging two of the five largest movie studios by revenue — Warner Bros. and Paramount Skydance Studios. It would also put CNN and CBS News under one ownership structure.

Both the Netflix-WBD deal and a potential Paramount-WBD merger would need U.S. and European regulatory approval for completion, and both deals have raised antitrust concerns among critics.