{"id":146884,"date":"2026-02-27T01:52:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T01:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/146884\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T01:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T01:52:14","slug":"paramount-skydance-comes-out-on-top-of-bidding-war-for-warner-bros-discovery-as-netflix-says-it-wont-raise-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/146884\/","title":{"rendered":"Paramount Skydance comes out on top of bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery as Netflix says it won’t raise bid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paramount Skydance won the months-long bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery as rival Netflix bowed out of the competition Thursday.<\/p>\n

The streaming giant said it wouldn\u2019t raise its offer after WBD\u2019s board earlier labeled a revamped bid from Paramount Skydance a \u201csuperior proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Warner Bros.\u2019 announcement had the potential to trigger a four-business-day window for Netflix to match Paramount\u2019s offer<\/a>. But by the evening, the streaming giant opted to bow out, instead.<\/p>\n

\"ManParamount Skydance CEO David Ellison poses on the red carpet for the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Dec. 7. REUTERS<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance\u2019s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match,\u201d Netflix Co-CEOs\u00a0Ted Sarandos\u00a0and\u00a0Greg Peters\u00a0said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis transaction was always a \u2018nice to have\u2019 at the right price, not a \u2018must have\u2019 at any price,\u201d they added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

David Ellison\u2019s Paramount Skydance had offered $31 per share in cash for WBD, plus a 25-cent quarterly \u201cticking fee\u201d per share for any delays after Sept. 30.<\/p>\n

The offer also included a $7 billion regulatory breakup fee and covered the $2.8 billion penalty Warner Bros. Discovery would owe Netflix if it bolts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are pleased WBD\u2019s Board has unanimously affirmed the superior value of our offer, which delivers to WBD shareholders superior value, certainty, and speed to closing,\u201d Ellison said in a statement issued before Netflix bowed out.<\/p>\n

A takeover target can label an external bid as a \u201ccompany superior proposal\u201d that\u2019s financially stronger and more viable if it has been vetted by independent advisors. <\/p>\n

Netflix\u2019s offer for Warner Bros. Discovery was an all-cash transaction valued at $27.75 per share.<\/p>\n

It came after officials on both sides of the Atlantic warned that Netflix could face the ire of anti-trust authorities, prompting CEO Ted Sarandos to lobby Washington and major European capitals that the proposed deal should get the green light.<\/p>\n

\"DavidWarner Bros. Discovery, which is led by CEO David Zaslav, labeled a revamped bid from Paramount Skydance a \u201csuperior proposal\u201d on Thursday. Getty Images to Warner Bros. Pictures<\/p>\n

Perks offered by Paramount include Ellison\u2019s dad \u2014 Oracle founder Larry Ellison, a close ally of President Trump\u2019s \u2014 pledging extra equity for lender solvency.<\/p>\n

Warner Bros. Discovery, which is led by CEO David Zaslav, said it still views Netflix as its preferred buyer for now.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Netflix merger agreement remains in effect, and the Board continues to recommend in favor of the Netflix transaction and has not withdrawn or modified its recommendation,\u201d the company said in a statement before the streamer said it wouldn\u2019t raise its offer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It is thought that any new company that emerges from the bidding war, which would include HBO Max, would rival tech giants Amazon and Apple in the increasingly competitive streaming market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Paramount Skydance won the months-long bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery as rival Netflix bowed out of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[288,28045,28047,2451,9,11,10,3005,28052,61598],"class_list":{"0":"post-146884","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-david-ellison","10":"tag-larry-ellison","11":"tag-netflix","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-headlines","14":"tag-new-york-news","15":"tag-paramount","16":"tag-warner-bros-discovery","17":"tag-world-bank"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}