Paramount submits new offer for Warner Bros. Discovery
Paramount submits new offer for Warner Bros. Discovery
Ahead of Tuesday’s official deadline, Paramount has submitted a revised offer to purchase WBD’s streaming, studio, and cable assets.
The acquisition of Paramount by Skydance was a complex enough process, but the competition over Warner Bros. Discovery has completely surpassed it. A new bid to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery has officially been received from Paramount Skydance, as both companies confirmed on Tuesday. Now, WBD’s board will review the new proposal to see if it can beat out the offer the company has already accepted from Netflix.
Key Details:
- At the deadline: Paramount has submitted its revised bid to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery.
- No change yet: WBD’s board is recommending no change in stance regarding the Netflix deal for now.
- Details to come: Paramount did not officially reveal the numbers in its revised offer.
Seven days ago, Netflix granted a waiver, which allowed WBD to consider a new offer from Paramount, despite the fact that it had already accepted a near-$83 billion bid from the world’s largest streamer. Under the terms of that waiver, Paramount had seven days to submit a revised offer to WBD.
That offer has now reached the desk of WBD board members. In a statement released on Tuesday morning, those executives counseled WBD shareholders to stand by while they considered the offer and prepared their response.
“Following engagement with PSKY during the seven-day limited waiver period, we received a revised PSKY proposal to acquire WBD, which we are reviewing in consultation with our financial and legal advisors,” the statement says. The Netflix merger agreement remains in effect, and the Board continues to recommend in favor of the Netflix transaction. WBD shareholders are advised not to take any action at this time with respect to the amended PSKY tender offer.”
Paramount chose not to divulge any financial details about its new bid, which many analysts expect to exceed the $30-per-share offer it has been trying to persuade WBD shareholders to accept since December. Sources have told Variety they expect Paramount to raise its price to $32 per share.
Netflix would be given a chance to match any sweetened offer if WBD were to accept Paramount’s new bid. The streaming giant has already shown some willingness to change its deal with WBD to edge out Paramount, as it converted the bid from stock-and-cash to an all-cash tender in January.
Now, all Netflix can do is wait to see what the WBD board recommends. If the board tells investors to switch their votes to Paramount’s new offer, Netflix has to head back to the drawing board — or decide whether or not the game is worth the candle. If WBD’s board recommends staying the course, however, Netflix will still have to contend with a hostile takeover bid from Paramount, as well as an antitrust investigation by the Department of Justice.
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