Close Menu
    Wall Street

    Warner Bros reconsiders Paramount $108B sale after revised offer covers $2.8B Netflix breakup fee


    Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/warner-bros-weighs-reopening-sale-195058251.html

    Warner Bros Discovery is considering reopening sale talks with rival Hollywood studio Paramount Skydance after receiving its ‌hostile suitor's most recent amended offer, Bloomberg News reported on ‌Sunday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

    Members of Warner Bros' board are discussing ​whether Paramount could offer the path to a superior deal, the Bloomberg report said, adding that the board has not decided how to respond and may stick to the current deal with Netflix .

    Reuters could not immediately ‌verify the report. Paramount, Warner ⁠Bros and Netflix did not respond to requests for comment.

    Paramount had enhanced its Warner Bros bid last week ⁠by offering shareholders extra cash for each quarter the deal fails to close after this year. It also agreed to cover the breakup fee ​the HBO ​parent would owe Netflix if it ​walked away, even though the ‌CBS owner did not raise its per-share offer.

    Paramount said it has offered shareholders a 25-cent-per-share quarterly "ticking fee" (about $650 million) in cash starting in 2027 until closing and agreed to cover Warner Bros’ $2.8 billion breakup fee to Netflix. However, it did not raise its $30-per-share offer, valuing the deal at $108.4 ‌billion including debt.

    Both Netflix and Paramount covet ​Warner Bros for its leading film and ​television studios, extensive content ​library and major franchises such as "Game of Thrones," "Harry Potter" ‌and DC Comics superheroes Batman and ​Superman.

    Activist investor Ancora ​Holdings, which has built a nearly $200 million stake, last week said it plans to oppose the Netflix deal, arguing the board ​did not sufficiently engage ‌with Paramount over its rival bid, which includes cable assets ​like CNN and TNT.

    Warner Bros reconsiders Paramount $108B sale after revised offer covers $2.8B Netflix breakup fee
    byu/callsonreddit inwallstreetbets



    Posted by callsonreddit

    42 Comments

    3. CleverInternetName8b on

      “Reconsiders” being a synonym for “person who approved the merger was run out to put in another mafia crony”

    4. PinPsychological82 on

      This is all bullshit to get Netflix to spend more.

      I am a big fan of “shopping around” to try to maximize value, but if I were personally involved I would say fuck you to WBD management for this if I were Netflix.

      Then again I’m just another dude on Reddit and not anyone on Netflix management

    11. DOKTANO on

      Netflix is the lesser of two evils, not sure I want to live in the Ellison’s owning WBD timeline.

    12. Suitable_Friend2954 on

      wait they’re actually considering covering the netflix breakup fee? that’s like the one thing that made this deal seem impossible from the start. if they’re willing to eat that $2.8b then maybe this thing actually has legs now.

    17. Tobyirl on

      NFLX just needs to wait 5 years to get this on the cheap when Paramount collapses under the debt used to fund this deal.

    19. GagOnMacaque on

      This could be the death of Paramount. Imagine going in the debt for 100+ years while paying your competitor $3 billion.

    20. AllAboutTheXeons on

      Fucking really? Larry Ellison really needs to accept this as a loss and move on. It’s like the same shit with him and Steve Jobs in the 90’s – their friendship suffered temporarily because Steve Jobs did not care for Ellison wanting to invest in Apple merely to make money. (Ellison wanted to buy Apple, give 25 percent equity to Steve Jobs and bring him back as CEO, this was a few years before Apple explored buying NeXT.)

    21. VariationAgreeable29 on

      I have to say, Netflix isn’t exactly stupid to drive up the price for Paramount. Ellison will have a massive amount of debt to contend with, and Netflix will have a few clean billion suddenly on the balance sheet. If Netflix now knows that Trump isn’t gonna support their bid anyway then they may as well try and hobble Paramount as much as possible.

    22. comomellamo on

      Buying Warner never works, they are a curse cycle. It didn’t work for Time, AOL, AT&T, and it won’t work now. Netflix should let Paramount over spend and get rid of a competitor or 2 in the process.

    23. wakaWear on

      Zaslav did this ☝️they let New Yorker Lawyer Attorney running Discovery and now Hollywood. He’ll keep destroying it for hundreds of millions, doesn’t give a damn trying to take a chance on content for top line growth, as he ain’t no Walt Disney. Knows he can get out of the AT&T time Warner debt hole only with a big M&A deal. 

      Enshitificiation of streaming content will continue, Hollywood gonna strike when there union deal is up after this merger, whomever wins.

    24. Killerninjaz13Two on

      Tbh looking at it this appears more like a win win deal

      Netflix gets $2.8 billion if they walk away with what paramount are offering

      And paramount looks to be itching to buy Warner Bros

      So im gonna get a wee bit of both, either way theres no real harm if nothing changes money will still be made

    25. Vegetable_Window7417 on

      This deal could be profitable for Netflix. It will only drag paramount completely under. It’s ridiculous for paramount to keep stepping up their offers like this.

    27. Looli318 on

      I was so confused, thought I was on the cartoon sub and was expecting people either crying or being hopeful about whatever was going to happen to their cartoons

    30. barth_ on

      No way WB was going to accept Netflix’ offer. It would allow so many lawsuits that the board didn’t work in the best interest of shareholders.

    34. btoned on

      It’s pretty cool how multi billion dollar companies are given the OK to buy billion dollar companies.

      And then trillion dollar companies can buy multi billion dollar companies.

      Competition in America is having two companies and only two companies.

    35. B0DAK_KLACK on

      This is a licensing move. When ai can produce any movie sequel or franchise, its the rights to the titles that will print. Who needs any of the actual teams when you can have an army of ai’s make a detailed movie for any movie you own?

    37. user365735 on

      This was part of the deal the entire time. The hostile take over included the Netflix breakup fee the entire time. 

    38. UrekMazino1234 on

      Some comments have already said it but I think this is bullish for Netflix regardless. Price goes up because uncertainty around the acquisition is gone, or they up there offer further and actually acquire WB I think it goes up long term anyways. Netflix is a cash cow and getting WB will be great for it long term anyways imo

    Leave A Reply
    Share via