It's not just Netflix that's seriously interested in acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), including Warner Bros. Games; Paramount is too. The company is offering $108.4 billion, which is significantly more than the $82.7 billion offered by Netflix.
Today, Paramount, a subsidiary of Skydance Corporation, announced that it has launched a tender offer to purchase all outstanding Warner Bros. Discovery shares at $30.00 each. Netflix offered $27.75 per share. The equity is backed by the Ellison family and RedBird Capital, in addition to fully committed debt financing from Bank of America, Citi, and Apollo.
Paramount's proposal is for the acquisition of the entire Warner Bros. Discovery, this includes the Global Networks Segment, which Warner Bros. Discovery intends to spin off, and Warner Bros. Games - with its studios in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, New York, Montréal as well as Avalanche, Netherrealm Studios, Rocksteady and Tt games.
David Ellison, Chairman and CEO of Paramount, said: "WBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer for their shares in the entire company. 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. We believe the WBD Board of Directors is pursuing an inferior proposal which exposes shareholders to a mix of cash and stock, an uncertain future trading value of the Global Networks linear cable business and a challenging regulatory approval process. We are taking our offer directly to shareholders to give them the opportunity to act in their own best interests and maximize the value of their shares."
"Price: an all-cash offer at$30.00per share, equating to an enterprise value of$108.4 billion, which represents a 139% premium to the undisturbed WBD stock price of$12.54as ofSeptember 10, 2025. In contrast, theNetflixproposal entails a volatile and complex structure valued at$27.75mix of cash ($23.25) and stock ($4.50), subject to collar and the future performance ofNetflix, equating to an enterprise value of$82.7 billion(excludingSpinCo)." - Paramount
Paramount's announcement also mentions: "Paramount's strategically and financially compelling offer to WBD shareholders provides a superior alternative to the Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) transaction, which offers inferior and uncertain value and exposes WBD shareholders to a protracted multi-jurisdictional regulatory clearance process with an uncertain outcome along with a complex and volatile mix of equity and cash. (...) WBD's Board of Directors recommendation of the Netflix transaction over Paramount's offer is based on an illusory prospective valuation of Global Networks that is unsupported by the business fundamentals and encumbered by high levels of financial leverage assigned to the entity."
Ellison continued, "We believe our offer will create a strongerHollywood. It is in the best interests of the creative community, consumers and the movie theater industry. We believe they will benefit from the enhanced competition, higher content spend and theatrical release output, and a greater number of movies in theaters as a result of our proposed transaction. We look forward to working to expeditiously deliver this opportunity so that all stakeholders can begin to capitalize on the benefits of the combined company."
