Warner Bros. Discovery says Paramount’s offer is ‘superior’ to Netflix deal

The board of directors of Warner Bros. Discovery said Thursday that Paramount Skydance’s latest bid to acquire the company, including its cable networks, was “superior” to its current deal with Netflix.

In a press release, Warner Bros. said it alerted Netflix of the decision and that the company would have four business days to respond with a counter.

Paramount’s updated offer, released Tuesday, increased the purchase price from $30 per share to $31 — a deal that would value Warner Bros.’ Discovery at around $77 billion. The proposal also included a $7 billion reverse termination fee if regulators block the deal, as well as reimbursement for Warner Bros.’ potential cost. Discovery to cancel its deal with Netflix.

Netflix and Warner Bros. previously reached a $72 billion deal, in which Netflix would acquire film studio Warner Bros. Discovery, as well as HBO and the HBO Max streaming service. Warner Bros. said it could terminate that deal if a revised proposal from Netflix was not deemed superior to Paramount’s offer.

“We are pleased that the WBD Board of Directors has unanimously affirmed the superior value of our offering,” said David Ellison, CEO of Paramount. He said his deal would provide “certainty and a speedy conclusion”.

Ellison was in Washington this week, attending President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address as the guest of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., according to a photo posted to X.

Netflix did not immediately return a request for comment.

The announcement from Warner Bros. comes as Netflix and Paramount continue to push for their respective acquisition efforts. With Ellison in Washington, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos was expected to meet with White House officials and the Justice Department’s antitrust division in Washington, DC. Sarandos was reportedly seen arriving at the White House just before 4 p.m. ET.

This wouldn’t be the Netflix executive’s first visit to the executive mansion. Late last year, Sarandos visited Trump in the Oval Office.

“I’ve met Ted. I think he’s fantastic,” the president told reporters on December 7. But moments later, Trump said a combination between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the market share the resulting company would have.

Sarandos also recently testified at a Senate hearing earlier this month, saying the streaming giant’s proposed deal with Warner Bros. “would create more economic growth.”

“This is not a typical media merger where you end up with the so-called Noah’s Ark problem – two of everything,” Sarandos said at the time. “We’re buying a company that has assets that we don’t have, and we’ll continue to invest in those.”

Earlier Thursday, the same Senate committee requested that another hearing, titled “The Second Act: Competition and Monopsony Issues in the Proposed Netflix-Warner Brothers Transaction,” be held on March 4. It’s unclear whether Paramount will face the same demands.

Note that David Ellison is the son of Larry Ellison, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle. The Ellisons are the majority shareholders of Paramount, and Larry Ellison has a close relationship with President Donald Trump.

Trump has also given mixed signals about what he thinks of the Ellisons and Paramount. After the Trump administration. After approving the Ellisons’ takeover of Paramount, Trump later said, “60 Minutes has treated me way worse since the so-called ‘takeover,’ than they’ve ever treated me before.” If they are friends, I would hate to see my enemies!

Trump recently told NBC News that he would stay out of the antitrust process, but had previously indicated several times that he would be personally involved.

Warner Bros. had rejected several offers from Paramount before Thursday’s announcement, prompting the Ellison-led company to step up its efforts and morph into a hostile takeover attempt. This prompted Netflix to change its offer to an all-cash offer, widely seen as a move to fend off the interests of its competitors.

Before Thursday, Warner Bros. had consistently ranked Netflix’s proposal as the superior offer for shareholders.

Shareholders of Warner Bros. are expected to vote on the pending transaction on March 20. Still, whatever Warner Bros. decides, the deal must be approved by government regulators.