Netflix, Paramount make cash bids for Warner Bros. Discovery
Netflix, Paramount make cash bids for Warner Bros. Discovery
Comcast, Netflix, and Paramount are all still in pursuit of the company, and the bidding process could be drawing to a close.
Warner Bros. Discovery has already received one official round of bids for its assets, and by all reports, round two of the process got started on Monday. Comcast, Netflix, and Paramount Skydance are all in the hunt for at least a portion of WBD, and that company may choose the winning bid as early as this week as it attempts to wrap up the process by year’s end.
Key Details:
- Where’s the cash?: Netflix has submitted a mostly cash bid for WBD, and Paramount’s offer is all cash.
- For keeps: This round of bids will be binding, meaning a deal could come about quickly if WBD approves an offer.
- Next year: The regulatory approval process for any agreement between WBD and a buyer will drag into 2026.
Multiple reports now indicate that Netflix has submitted a mostly cash offer for WBD in the latest round of bids. Paramount’s new tender is all cash, and while Comcast is still officially in pursuit of its chosen WBD assets, fewer details are available on its revised offer. Bloomberg reports bankers from all three firms worked through the holiday weekend to perfect their new bids.
Charles Gasparino of Fox Business reports that this round of bids will either result in a winner being chosen, or a new round of bids being solicited, and that either of those outcomes could occur as soon as this week. Per Bloomberg, this round of bids is binding, so a winner could be chosen quickly if WBD’s demands are met by any one offer.
Paramount has submitted the largest number of bids for WBD so far, putting forward several offers before the auction-style sale now in progress began. The company now has funding from Apollo Global Management in its corner, as well as the largesse of Paramount CEO David Ellison’s father, Larry.
WBD is said to want an offer worth $30 per share — a big premium over Monday’s closing stock price of $23.87. The bidding process for WBD may conclude by this week; any deal for the company won’t close until 2026 at the earliest, especially if Comcast or Netflix’s offers are chosen.
Both of those companies want to acquire the streaming and studio assets of WBD, while Paramount wants the company in its entirety. But both Netflix and Comcast could face regulatory headwinds that Paramount does not, as political considerations will likely cause the Trump administration to throw up significant roadblocks for either. The Department of Justice — an organization that is supposed to be independent from political concerns — will have the final say on whether or not an acquisition of WBD by Comcast or Netflix violates any laws.
Clarity could be coming soon as to which company is the winning bidder for WBD. The best offer could be chosen as soon as this week, as WBD attempts to wrap up the auction process and move forward with its sale by the end of 2025.
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