Warner Bros. Discovery said Tuesday that it was \u201creviewing\u201d a revised offer from Paramount Skydance \u2014 the latest twist in the high-profile auction to claim one of Hollywood\u2019s corporate jewels. <\/p>\n
The company did not provide any details of Paramount\u2019s bid. Paramount separately confirmed that it submitted a revised offer.<\/p>\n
In a short statement, Warner acknowledged that Paramount had submitted a modified proposal to buy all of the company\u2019s outstanding shares and that board members were evaluating the offer \u201cin consultation with our financial and legal advisors.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will update our shareholders following the Board\u2019s review,\u201d Warner said. <\/p>\n
The Larry Ellison-backed Paramount had been facing a late Monday night deadline to boost its bid to claim the company that owns CNN, HBO, TBS and the storied Warner Bros. movie and film studios. Last week, the auction\u2019s winning bidder \u2014 Netflix \u2014 agreed to allow Warner Bros. Discovery to reopen talks with Paramount<\/a> for seven days to determine whether Paramount would bring more money to the table. <\/p>\n Warner instructed Paramount to present its \u201cbest and final\u201d offer.<\/p>\n Netflix has matching rights<\/a> should Warner Bros. Discovery reverse course and accept the Paramount bid. <\/p>\n The move comes nearly three months after Warner\u2019s board unanimously agreed to sell HBO and studio assets<\/a>, including its deep library that includes Superman, Harry Potter, Scooby-Doo, \u201cGame of Thrones,\u201d and \u201cThe Big Bang Theory,\u201d to Netflix for $27.75 a share. <\/p>\n Netflix\u2019s deal, valued at $82.7 billion, does not include Warner\u2019s basic cable channels, including CNN, TBS and HGTV.<\/p>\n Those channels are slated to be spun off to a new company later this year.<\/p>\n But Paramount, managed by scion David Ellison, <\/a>has repeatedly cried foul, saying its cash bid for all of Warner Bros. Discovery, including the Warner cable channels, would be more lucrative for shareholders. Paramount, which enjoys friendly relations with President Trump, has also boasted that it has a more certain path to win U.S. regulatory approval compared to Netflix.<\/p>\n But Warner Bros.\u2019 board has stuck with Netflix\u2019s bid, saying the streaming giant\u2019s financing was more secure<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Netflix merger agreement remains in effect, and the Board continues to recommend in favor of the Netflix transaction,\u201d Warner said in its Tuesday statement. <\/p>\n Warner Bros. Discovery told Paramount last week that it expected the billionaire Ellison to put more money into the deal. <\/p>\n Paramount has previously said that the tech billionaire would guarantee more than $41 billion in equity financing that was needed to pull of the more than $108-billion take-over. <\/p>\n Under Paramount\u2019s previous offer, the Ellison family was planning to contribute about $12 billion. Another $24 billion was expected to come from the royal families from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. <\/p>\n