Paramount launches hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery despite Netflix deal
Paramount is launching a hostile bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery after the company lost to Netflix in high-stakes bidding war, the company announced Monday.
Paramount said it would offer $30 per share for the media conglomerate, which owns the Warner Bros. film studio, the cable channel HBO, the streaming service HBO Max and a portfolio of cable brands.
Netflix agreed last week to buy a large part of Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming assets — most notably HBO and the Warner Bros. film studio — for $27.75 per share. Netflix’s takeover would not include the Warner-owned cable channels.
In a news release, Paramount said its offer to Warner Bros. shareholders “provides a superior alternative to the Netflix transaction,” warning that a deal with the streaming giant risks entangling the studio in a complex regulatory process.
“WBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer for their shares in the entire company,” Paramount CEO David Ellison said in a statement.
“Our public offer, which is on the same terms we provided to the Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors in private, provides superior value, and a more certain and quicker path to completion,” Ellison added.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
