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Paramount has launched a $108bn hostile bid to buy Warner Bros Discovery, in an attempt to outmanoeuvre Netflix after the streaming giant won an auction for the prized media company last week.
The all-cash offer for the whole of Warner’s business, including its cable businesses as well as its studio and streaming business, values the media group at $30 a share.
Netflix last week beat rival bids from Paramount and Comcast to seal an $82.7bn deal to buy just Warner’s studio and streaming assets.
Paramount said it has offered to pay $18bn extra in cash compared with Netflix’s offer, which values Warner at $27.25 a share using a mixture of cash and stock.
The move seeks to win over Warner’s shareholders sceptical about Netflix’s ability to get a deal done, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
“Despite Paramount submitting six proposals over the course of 12 weeks, WBD never engaged meaningfully with these proposals which we believe deliver the best outcome for WBD shareholders,” said Paramount on Monday.
“Paramount has now taken its offer directly to WBD shareholders and its Board of Directors to ensure they have the opportunity to pursue this clearly superior alternative,” it added.
Warner’s board had decided to opt for Netflix late on Thursday on the basis that the offer of the movie streaming giant offered greater certainty and was the most accommodating bidder to the company’s demands.
“The board’s overriding priority more than valuation was choosing a bidder that could sign immediately, withstand regulatory scrutiny, and close on the terms required,” said a person close to Warner.
This is a developing story
