Bid war: Paramount ups ante with $108bn counter, overtakes Netflix for Warner Bros Discovery

In a dramatic escalation of Hollywood’s biggest takeover battle in years, Paramount Skydance has launched a hostile $108.4 billion bid for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), pitting itself directly against Netflix’s bid for the iconic studio and its streaming assets.

The all-cash proposal — $30 per WBD share — was revealed publicly after Paramount claimed that repeated private efforts to engage with WBD’s board of directors had failed. The company says it submitted six proposals over 12 weeks, prompting the decision to refer the proposal directly to shareholders.

Paramount argues that its offer offers “superior value, a more certain and faster path to completion” than Netflix’s $83 billion offer, which WBD accepted last week but has since drawn significant criticism from investors.

David Ellison, Paramount’s chairman and CEO, said it was time to put the decision directly in the hands of shareholders.

“WBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior cash offer for their shares of the entire company… We believe WBD’s board is pursuing a lower-quality proposal that exposes shareholders to uncertainty about cash and stock, volatile future valuations for the cable business, and a challenging regulatory path.”

Ellison added that the combination of Paramount and WBD would strengthen the entertainment ecosystem: “We believe our offering will create a stronger Hollywood. It is in the best interest of the creative community, consumers and the movie theater industry.”

Why is this Paramount show different from others?

The key difference in the takeover battle is what is actually purchased.

Paramount’s bid covers the entire WBD empire – including cable networks, studios and broadcast operations.

Netflix’s offering is only aimed at studios and streaming businesses, excluding its global networks division.

WBD had previously announced plans to separate its streaming unit, its studios and Global Networks into two separately traded companies, the structure on which the Netflix bid was designed. Paramount’s move completely derails that plan.

Market reaction

The aggressive bid sparked an immediate response from the market. WBD shares jumped 7.4% in premarket trading, rising to nearly $28, surpassing Netflix’s bid of $27.75 per share — and now approaching Paramount’s bid of $30.

The takeover standoff now puts intense pressure on WBD’s board, which must weigh shareholder sentiment, organizational complexity, and competing visions for the company’s future.