Despite offering even more money, Warner Bros has formally rejected Paramount’s late $108.4bn offer, leaving the Netflix deal on track for now. Update: Despite the promise of even more billions, Warner Bros Discovery’s board has formally rejected Paramount’s acquisition offer, and is instead sticking with the original deal forged with the streaming giant, Netflix. In ... Warner Bros rejects Paramount Skydance’s acquisition offer
Despite offering even more money, Warner Bros has formally rejected Paramount’s late $108.4bn offer, leaving the Netflix deal on track for now.
Update: Despite the promise of even more billions, Warner Bros Discovery’s board has formally rejected Paramount’s acquisition offer, and is instead sticking with the original deal forged with the streaming giant, Netflix.
In a joint letter to shareholders, Warner Bros’ board cited the ‘risks’ attached to Paramount’s offer, despite it being considerably higher than Netflix’s.
“Your Board negotiated a merger with Netflix that maximizes value while mitigating downside risks,” reads an excerpt from the letter published by Deadline, “and we unanimously believe the Netflix merger is in your best interest. We are focused on advancing the Netflix merger to deliver its compelling value to you.”
Warner Bros had previously accepted a deal with Netflix last year, worth $82.7bn, before Paramount swooped in on the 9th December with an offer of $108.4bn.
That late bid resulted in fears that the ownership of Warner Bros could descend into a protracted bidding war, which may still happen – Paramount Skydance could come back with an even more ludicrously high offer in the coming days. For now, though, it looks as though Netflix will be the corporation that tucks Warner Bros under its wing, assuming the deal’s ratified by the FCC.
If it happens, it looks as though Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav will walk away with a payout of $550m, while Netflix will further erode cinema profits by reducing the release window for movies from 45 days to just 17.
Lots of people in business suits will be happy about Warner’s sale; at present, it’s hard to see any upside for us movie-goers.
Our original story follows…
11th December 2025: The bidding war to own Warner Bros Discovery took a turn on the 9th December. Netflix had already closed a deal to buy the studio in a deal worth $82.7bn. But then Paramount Skydance swooped in with a late $108.4bn offer.
Warner Bros now has 10 business days to mull over Paramount’s bid, though according to Bloomberg, it’s thought that Warner’s board isn’t thinking about cancelling its previous deal with Netflix. That Warner will have to pay $2.8bn just to cancel that deal may have something to do with that.
The outlet’s sources also suggest that both Paramount and Netflix could up their offers in the coming weeks, resulting in a bidding war that will last well into 2026.
To quote Bloomberg, “Both companies have communicated that they have the ability to increase their offers, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.”
Whoever the winner is, the Warner Bros sale represents yet further consolidation in the entertainment industry. In a few years, every historical studio and bit of IP on the planet will potentially be owned by two or three gigantic corporations.
Earlier…
9th December 2025: The Hollywood buyout saga is far from over. Days after Netflix won a lengthy bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery – a deal worth $82.7bn – Paramount Skydance has stepped in with a last-minute bid of its own.
Paramount has, in essence, bypassed Warner Bros’ board entirely and appealed directly to its shareholders, offering a $108.4bn takeover bid. Paramount has said that this so-called cash offer, equating to around $28 per share, is a “superior alternative to the Netflix transaction,” and has made other promises which it hopes will sweeten the deal, including a commitment to cinema releases and lengthy exclusivity windows for theatre chains.
Warner Bros’ board of directors has said that it’s considering the offer, while Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has said that the counter-offer from Paramount was “entirely expected” at a recent conference.
Recently acquired by production company Skydance, Paramount has a couple of possible advantages at this stage: it’s flush with cash from Middle Eastern investment funds, and perhaps more pivotally, has direct connections to the White House. Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, runs Affinity Partners, one of the investment firms bankrolling that huge $108.4bn offer.
Paramount Skydance is also in Trump’s good books: Larry Ellison, father of Skydance and now Paramount head David Ellison, is friends with the President. Around the time Skydance was hoping to acquire Paramount, the latter studio paid Trump a $16m settlement over a long-running legal dispute involving an edition of the TV program, 60 Minutes. Weeks later, the $8.4bn Skydance-Paramount merger was waved through by the FCC.
Trump has since said that the Netflix-Warner buyout “could be a problem,” hinting that the deal might not be approved by US regulators. But then, Trump has also lashed out again at 60 Minutes, writing in an online rant that the new Paramount is “no better than the old ownership” following a recent edition of the show.
At present, then, it’s unclear what will happen next in the fight for Warner Bros. The bid to acquire it could, however, take rather longer than Netflix hoped.
