News: Paramount Set for $111 Billion Warner Bros Takeover After Netflix Drops Bid — What It Means for Hollywood and Investors
Paramount Skydance is poised to acquire Warner Bros Discovery in a deal worth approximately $111 billion including debt, after Netflix declined to raise its competing offer. The Warner Bros Discovery board on Thursday deemed Paramount's revised $31-per-share all-cash bid to be superior to an existing agreement with the streaming giant, ending a months-long bidding war for one of Hollywood's most storied studios. The deal, if approved by regulators, would create a media behemoth combining Paramount's CBS, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central with Warner Bros' HBO, CNN, DC Comics, Harry Potter, and Game of Thrones franchises. Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said the acquisition was always a "nice to have at the right price, not a must have at any price," signalling the streaming company's disciplined approach to dealmaking even as it walked away from arguably the biggest prize in entertainment. Markets reacted swiftly to the news. Netflix stock spiked 10% in extended trading on Thursday, while Paramount gained 5%. Warner Bros Discovery shares dipped 2%, trading at around $28.80 with a market capitalisation of roughly $71.4 billion. The divergent reactions underscore Wall Street's view that Netflix may have dodged an expensive bullet while Paramount faces the harder task of proving its massive bet will pay off.