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Warner Bros. Discovery said that Paramount has raised the price of its takeover offer to $31 US per share, potentially setting the stage for a fresh bidding war with Netflix over the future of the Hollywood giant.
The company previously offered $30 US per share when it first went directly to Warner stakeholders with its all-cash, hostile bid in December — just days after Warner struck a deal to sell its studio and streaming business to Netflix for $27.75 US per share.
Beyond upping its proposed purchase price, Warner said Tuesday afternoon that Paramount had increased its regulatory termination fee to $7 billion US. Paramount also agreed to move up a previously-promised “ticking fee” payable to shareholders if its deal doesn’t go through now by the end of September — amounting to 25 cents per share, or a total of $650 million US.
After briefly reopening talks with Paramount, Warner earlier confirmed that it had received a revised offer and was reviewing it. When announcing the increased price, Warner said that Paramount’s revised proposal “could reasonably be expected to lead to” a superior offer as defined under its current agreement with Netflix — but the company’s board has still not actually determined whether Paramount’s offer is better than Netflix’s.
A Netflix spokesperson declined to comment when reached Tuesday afternoon.
Potential reshape of media landscape
A Warner Bros. Discovery buyout would reshape Hollywood and the wider media landscape — bringing HBO Max, cult-favorite titles like Harry Potter and, depending on who wins the Netflix v. Paramount tug-of-war, potentially even CNN under a new roof.
Paramount wants to acquire Warner Bros. in its entirety — including networks like CNN and Discovery. But Netflix only wants to buy Warner’s studio and streaming business. Warner’s board has repeatedly backed this deal, and on Tuesday maintained that its agreement with Netflix still stands.
If Warner’s board later deems Paramount’s offer to be superior, however, Netflix would then have four days to match or revise its proposal. It could also choose to walk away.
“Are we gonna lose HBO?” Culture critics Teri Hart and Bilge Ebiri join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud on Commotion to discuss the biggest studio merger in history (Netflix and Warner Brothers) and its potential impact on consumers, and theatrical and streaming landscapes.
Paramount, Warner and Netflix have spent the last couple of months in a heated back and forth over who has a stronger deal. But many lawmakers and entertainment trade groups have sounded the alarm along the way, warning that either buyout of all or parts of Warner’s business would only further consolidate power in an industry already run by just a few major players. Critics say that could result in job losses, less diversity in filmmaking and potentially more headaches for consumers who are facing rising costs of streaming subscriptions as is.
Combined, that raises tremendous antitrust concerns — and a Warner sale could come down to who gets the regulatory greenlight. The U.S. Department of Justice has already initiated reviews, and other countries are expected to do so.
Both Paramount and Netflix have argued that their proposals are good for consumers and the wider industry. And the companies have taken aim at each other publicly with regulatory arguments.
Paramount has pointed to Netflix’s much larger market value. And it’s argued that if the streaming giant acquires Warner, it would only give it more dominance in the subscription video on demand space.
But Netflix is trying to convince regulators that it’s up against broader video libraries, particularly Google’s YouTube. Netflix has also said that since it doesn’t currently have the same studios and film distribution that Warner does, it would preserve and grow those operations — whereas a Warner-Paramount merger would combine two of Hollywood’s last five major studios, as well as theatrical channels and news networks.
Even though CBS postponed the airing of a 60 Minutes piece about El Salvador’s CECOT prison, the segment briefly appeared on Global TV’s free website and app. The pulling of the story caused controversy after CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss held it seeking the inclusion of the Trump administration’s perspective.
Politics could also come into play. U.S. President Donald Trump previously made unprecedented suggestions about his involvement in seeing a deal through, before walking back those statements and maintaining that regulatory approval will be up to the Justice Department.
Trump has a close relationship with the billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison (the father of Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison) who is heavily backing Paramount’s bid to buy Warner. And the push to acquire Warner arrive just months after Skydance closed its own buyout of Paramount — in a contentious merger approved just weeks after the company agreed to pay the president $16 million US to settle a lawsuit over editing at Paramount’s 60 Minutes program on CBS.
Under new ownership, CBS has seen significant editorial shifts, notably with the installation of Free Press founder Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News. Critics say similar changes could happen at Warner’s CNN if Paramount’s bid is successful.
Still, Trump has continued to publicly lash out at Paramount over editorial decisions at CBS’ 60 Minutes. The president also previously met with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, whom he called a “fantastic man.”
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