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among intense and bitter bidding war Warner Bros. for Discovery – and Paramount as Skydance felt like its inner edge Due to its owners’ friendly relationship with Donald Trump – according to multiple reports, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos met privately with the president to make his company’s case.
Meanwhile, on Monday morning, the despised Paramount leadership launched a hostile takeover bid, offering a significantly higher cash price for Warners.
“The Paramount offer for the entire WBD provides shareholders with $18 billion more cash than Netflix received,” the company said in a statement. “WBD’s board of directors’ recommendation of the Netflix transaction over Paramount’s offering is based on a misleading prospective valuation of the global network that is not supported by the fundamentals of the business and is influenced by the high level of financial leverage assigned to the entity.”
Paramount, led by chairman David Ellison, revealed that it was making its offer public, stating that it was a hostile attempt to force the Warner Bros. board out.
The company asserted, “We believe the WBD board of directors is pursuing a substandard proposal that exposes shareholders to a mix of cash and stock, the uncertain future trading value of the Global Networks linear cable business, and a challenging regulatory approval process.” “We are taking our offer directly to shareholders to give them the opportunity to act in their best interests and maximize the value of their shares.”
According to the proposal, Paramount is bidding $30 per share, all in cash. Meanwhile, Netflix’s offer is $27.75 per share and a mix of cash and stock. Shareholders will also get a stake in the linear TV spinoff company that will be spun off from Warner Bros. Discovery next year.
Because it is a tender offer, Netflix must convince Warner Bros. Discovery stockholders to accept this deal instead of a Netflix deal approved by the WBD board. To make his case, Ellison has launched a website outlining the Paramount deal and arguing that it is better for Hollywood and the media landscape.
During a White House confab in mid-November, which reportedly lasted two hours, Sarandos argued that Netflix was not a “Almighty Monopoly” and has also faced subscription losses in recent years, saying that a merger with WBD would make the company comparable in size to YouTube.
bloomberg also reported The president told Sarandos that Warner Bros. should go to the highest bidder, giving the impression that Netflix would not face immediate backlash from the White House. The acquisition will combine the streaming pioneer with Warner’s film and television studios, including HBO and HBO Max, and give it access to WBD’s popular franchises, such as harry potter franchise and game of Thrones,
Meanwhile, Paramount chief David Ellison had suggested throughout the sale process that he had the easiest regulatory path to seal the deal because of his and his father Larry Ellison’s relationship with the president. The elder Ellison, who supported his son’s purchase of Paramount and will be heavily involved in the Warner merger, is the founder of Oracle and a close Trump ally.
Sarandos came out of the meeting feeling that he “had received some kind of blessing from Trump.” according to hollywood reporterAlso, based on Paramount’s belief that it might underbid Warner due to Ellison “Trump Card,” Sarandos saw the beginning of Netflix’s winning proposal.
Finally, Netflix shocked the media and entertainment landscape when it agreed to buy Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion, most of it in cash. The deal, which will not close until Discovery Global separates from WBD in late 2026, will require Netflix to pay Warner stockholders $27.75 per share.
The deal also includes a hefty $5.8 billion breakup fee, up from the $5 billion Ellison had offered in Paramount’s latest offer if government regulators don’t approve the deal. Meanwhile, there are still several hurdles for Netflix to overcome before it can merge with one of Hollywood’s oldest and largest studios.
For example, the deal is contingent on offsetting WBD’s declining cable television assets, which had been in the works before Warner CEO David Zyslaz put the company up for sale.
The standalone company Discovery Global, which will not be under the Netflix umbrella, will include cable news networks CNN, TNT Sports, TBS and Discovery, as well as streaming and digital properties Bleacher Report and Discovery+. The spinoff is scheduled for the third quarter of 2026.
Additionally, there is merger facing vocal opposition From powerful Hollywood labor unions, including the Writers Guild of America West and the Writers Guild of America East.
“The world’s largest streaming company is swallowing up one of its biggest competitors, which antitrust laws were designed to prevent,” the WGA said in a statement. “This merger must be stopped.”
On top of that, Paramount has now implemented “Plan B” and going directly to Warner Bros. shareholders in an attempt to launch a hostile takeover.
“We are confident that our proposal will create a stronger Hollywood,” Ellison wrote Monday. “This is in the best interests of the creative community, consumers and the movie theater industry. We believe they will benefit from increased competition, higher content spend and theatrical release output and a greater number of films in theaters as a result of our proposed transaction. We look forward to working to rapidly deliver on this opportunity so that all stakeholders can begin to capitalize on the benefits of the combined company.”
Paramount executives are already lobbying against Netflix and Ellison in DC indicated strategy In a forceful letter to the Warner Bros. board last week, which was sent just before the Netflix deal was announced.
“Through media reporting and otherwise, it has become clear that the WBD has abandoned the semblance and reality of a fair transaction process, thereby abdicating its duties towards shareholders, and has embarked on a short-sighted process with a predetermined outcome that favors a single bidder,” the letter to the board said.
In the end, even if Sarandos left his meeting with Trump with new confidence, an unpredictable Trump could still move in and try to scuttle the deal. Speaking to reporters ahead of Sunday’s Kennedy Center Honors.The President indicated he may still intervene in the sale of Warner Bros. to Netflix.
Although he praised Netflix as a “great company” and Sarandos as a “fantastic guy”, confirming that he had recently met with the Netflix chief, the president said that the combined size of the two companies “could be a problem” and that he might have to step in.
“I have a lot of respect for them, but it’s a huge market share, so we’ll have to see what happens,” Trump said. He added, “They have a huge market share and when they have Warner Bros., you know, that share goes up a lot, so, I don’t know. I would also be involved in that decision. But they have a huge market share.”