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Warner Bros. is telling the company’s shareholders that they have confidence in the $72 billion buyout offer Netflix superior, and to reject a hostile takeover bid of great quality Skydance.
Paramount turned hostile on its bid last week and asked shareholders to reject the deal with Netflix backed by Warner Bros.’s board.
Paramount is offering $30 per Warner share, or $77.9 billion, compared with Netflix’s $27.75 per share.
Warner Bros. merger with any company would change the landscape Hollywood And it will face intense scrutiny from US regulators as it impacts film productions, consumer streaming platforms and, in the case of Paramount, a major source of news for millions of people.
The competitive offers set the stage for a combination of some of the most beloved entertainment properties. Netflix’s massive library includes “Stranger Things” and “Squid Game,” while the much smaller Paramount owns Hollywood studios and major TV networks like CBS and MTV. Both want Warner, which owns Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO and the Harry Potter franchise.
“Which media company, if any, ultimately secures (Warner), controls the calculations and much more of the streaming wars,” said Mike Proulx, vice president and research director at research firm Forrester.
Both proposals would face regulatory scrutiny, an issue the President donald trump Has already been weighed.
Here’s what to know about the three players and what the bids mean for the entertainment industry.
A look at the offers
CEO David Zaslav has been seeking offers for Warner Bros. Discovery since at least October, when he said the company might be willing to sell all or parts of its business.
Paramount said Monday that it had submitted six offers to Warner over a 12-week period before the offers were rejected in favor of Netflix.
So Paramount decided to go directly to Warner shareholders with the bid, which values it at about $79.9 billion, or $30 per share in cash. Unlike Netflix, Paramount is also offering to buy Warner’s cable assets, and is asking the company’s shareholders to reject Netflix’s bid.
Paramount CEO Larry Ellison said the offer is worth about $18 billion more in cash than Netflix’s competing cash-and-stock bid.
Paramount deal includes help from investors like Trump’s son-in-law jared kushner and funds controlled by the governments of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, according to a regulatory filing.
Netflix is offering a combination of cash and stock at a price of $27.75 per Warner share. Its offer values Warner at $72 billion excluding debt, but it is not bidding on Warner-owned networks such as CNN and Discovery.
Prior to Paramount’s bid, the Netflix deal was expected to close in the next 12 to 18 months, once Warner completes the previously announced separation of its cable operations.
Competitive bids make a final deal more likely
Matthew Dolgin, senior equity analyst at research firm Morningstar, said there are still many unknowns, including whether Netflix will sweeten its bid now.
But, he said, a competing offer makes it more likely that Warner will ultimately be acquired.
He said, “With Paramount now formally engaged in an offer to shareholders, it seems even more likely to us that the Warner acquisition will go through, as it is no longer a single decision that may or may not depend on regulatory approval.”
Shareholders have until January 8, 2026 to vote on Paramount’s tender offer.
Donald Trump had already lost weight
Another wild card could be President Trump. He previously reflected on the deal, saying that Netflix’s offer to buy Warner “could be a problem” due to the potential number of viewers.
The Republican president said he would be involved in the decision whether the federal government should approve the deal.
Paramount’s CEO is the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, a Trump ally. Federal regulators under Trump approved Paramount’s $8 billion merger with Skydance in July.
Regulatory scrutiny awaits any deal
On the Netflix offering, state or federal regulators may be most concerned about the sheer size of the combined Netflix and Warner subscription service, Morningstar’s Dolgin said. Netflix is already the world’s largest streaming service.
This is less of a concern with the Paramount deal, as its streaming service is smaller and has less international reach than Netflix. But regulators could raise red flags over the combination of Paramount and Warner film and television studios, because relatively few of them are left, Dolgin said.
A pattern of media acquisition
As streaming platforms have matured, more media companies are looking for growth through acquisitions.
Warner Bros. Discovery itself was created in 2022 when US telecom giant AT&T Inc. separated and then combined its WarnerMedia operations with Discovery Inc.
In 2021, Amazon said it would buy MGM, the film and TV studio behind James Bond, “Legally Blonde” and “Shark Tank.” Disney purchased Fox’s entertainment service in 2019.
“Technology has always faced this pattern of startups, lots of different players, legacy companies coming into action, and then eventually a lot of consolidation,” said Forrester’s Proulx. “And that’s where we are right now in the streaming wars saga, and we’ll see continued consolidation into 2026.”