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Warner Bros. Discovery says it\u2019s reviewing a new takeover offer from Paramount, but it continues to recommend a competing proposal from Netflix to its shareholders in the meantime.<\/p>\n
Warner disclosed Tuesday that it had received a revised offer from Paramount after a\u00a0seven-day window\u00a0to renew talks with the Skydance-owned company elapsed Monday. Paramount confirmed it had submitted this proposal, but neither provided further details on the bid. The company was widely expected to have raised its offer.<\/p>\n
A Warner Bros. Discovery buyout\u00a0would reshape Hollywood\u00a0and the wider media landscape \u2014 bringing HBO Max, cult-favorite titles like \u201cHarry Potter\u201d and, depending on who wins the\u00a0Netflix v. Paramount\u00a0tug-of-war, potentially\u00a0even CNN\u00a0under a new roof.<\/p>\n
Paramount wants to acquire Warner Bros. in its entirety \u2014 including networks\u00a0like CNN\u00a0and Discovery \u2014 and went straight to shareholders with an all-cash, $77.9 billion hostile offer just days after the Netflix deal was announced in December. Accounting for debt, that bid offered Warner stakeholders $30 per share, amounting to an enterprise value of around $108 billion.<\/p>\n
Paramount maintained on Tuesday that its tender offer remains on the table while Warner evaluates its latest proposal.<\/p>\n
Netflix only wants to buy Warner\u2019s studio and streaming business for $72 billion\u00a0in cash, or about $83 billion including debt. Warner\u2019s board has repeatedly backed this deal \u2014 and on Tuesday maintained that its agreement with Netflix still stands.<\/p>\n
A press contact for Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Warner shareholders are set to vote on the Netflix proposal on March 20.<\/p>\n
If Warner\u2019s board changes course and deems Paramount\u2019s latest offer superior, Netflix would have a chance to match or revise its proposal, potentially setting the stage for a fresh bidding war. It could also choose to walk away.<\/p>\n
Paramount, Warner and Netflix have spent the last couple of months in a heated back and forth over who has a stronger deal. But many lawmakers and entertainment trade groups have sounded the alarm along the way, warning that either buyout of all or parts of Warner\u2019s business would only further consolidate power in an industry already run by just a few major players. Critics say that could result in job losses, less diversity in filmmaking and potentially more headaches for consumers who are facing rising costs of streaming subscriptions as is.<\/p>\n
Combined, that raises tremendous\u00a0antitrust concerns\u00a0\u2014 and a Warner sale could come down to who gets the regulatory greenlight. The U.S. Department of Justice has already initiated reviews, and other countries are expected to do so.<\/p>\n
Both Paramount and Netflix have argued that their proposals are good for consumers and the wider industry. And the companies have taken aim at each other publicly with regulatory arguments.<\/p>\n
Paramount has pointed to Netflix\u2019s much larger market value. And it\u2019s argued that if the streaming giant acquires Warner, it would only give it more dominance in the subscription video on demand space. But Netflix is trying to convince regulators that it\u2019s up against broader video libraries, particularly Google\u2019s YouTube. Netflix has also said that since it doesn\u2019t currently have the same studios and film distribution that Warner does, it would preserve and grow those operations \u2014 whereas a Warner-Paramount merger would combine two of Hollywood\u2019s last five major studios, as well as theatrical channels and news networks.<\/p>\n
Politics could also come into play. President Donald Trump previously\u00a0made unprecedented suggestions\u00a0about his involvement in seeing a deal through, before walking back those statements and\u00a0maintaining\u00a0that regulatory approval will be up to the Justice Department.<\/p>\n
Trump has a close relationship with the billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison (the father of Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison) who is\u00a0heavily backing\u00a0Paramount\u2019s bid to buy Warner. And the push to acquire Warner arrive just months after Skydance closed its own\u00a0buyout of Paramount\u00a0\u2014 in a contentious merger\u00a0approved just weeks\u00a0after the company agreed to\u00a0pay the president $16 million\u00a0to settle a lawsuit over editing at Paramount\u2019s \u201c60 Minutes\u201d program on CBS. Under new ownership, CBS has seen significant\u00a0editorial shifts, notably with the\u00a0installation\u00a0of Free Press founder\u00a0Bari Weiss\u00a0as editor-in-chief of CBS News. Critics say similar changes could happen at Warner\u2019s CNN if Paramount\u2019s bid is successful.<\/p>\n
But Trump has continued to publicly lash out at Paramount over editorial decisions at CBS\u2019 \u201c60 Minutes.\u201d The president also\u00a0previously met with\u00a0Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who he called a \u201cfantastic man.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#Warner #Bros #recommending #Netflixs #takeover #bid #reviewing #fresh #Paramount #offer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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