Warner Bros. Rejects Paramount's Takeover Bid, Endorses Netflix Deal

Warner Bros. Discovery's board has unanimously rejected Paramount's $77.9 billion hostile takeover bid, advising shareholders to support a competing $72 billion offer from Netflix. The board expressed concerns over Paramount's proposal, citing excessive debt financing and insufficient safeguards, and emphasized that the Netflix agreement offers superior value with greater certainty. Paramount has not responded to the rejection, and its bid remains on the table. Shareholders have until January 21 to tender their shares. Paramount had previously announced a $40.4 billion equity financing guarantee from Oracle founder Larry Ellison and increased its breakup fee to $5.8 billion, matching Netflix's. The competing bids differ in scope: Netflix seeks to acquire Warner's studio and streaming assets, including HBO Max, while Paramount aims to purchase the entire company, encompassing networks like CNN and Discovery. Both potential mergers are expected to face significant antitrust scrutiny and could take over a year to finalize.