Paramount wins the battle for Warner Bros after Netflix declines to match the bid
The streaming group that owns ‘Money Heist’ says the deal is no longer financially attractive
After a historic battle that has lasted three months, Paramount Skydance is one step away from acquiring the historic Warner Bros Discovery film studios after Netflix declined to improve its bid.
“We’ve always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid,” said the two executives who jointly run Netflix, Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters.
The reaction from the streaming group’s executives comes after Warner announced on Thursday that Paramount’s latest proposal is superior to the terms agreed with Netflix, allowing the Burbank-based group to break the pre-agreement and negotiate directly with Paramount.
“Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Today announced that its board of directors, following consultation with its independent financial and legal advisers, has determined that the previously disclosed proposal from Paramount Skydance Corporation constitutes a ‘Company Superior Proposal’ as defined in WBD’s merger agreement with Netflix, Inc,” the group led by David Zaslav said in a press release.
Deeming Paramount’s offer superior opened a period for Netflix to match or surpass it, but executives at the streaming group, owner of series such as Money Heist and Squid Game, have declined to continue the bidding. “This transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price,” said Netflix, expressing regret that the deal fell through.
The latest offer from Paramount, owned by the Ellison family, the billionaire owners of tech giant Oracle and friends of Donald Trump, has triggered a change of heart at Warner Bros., which until Monday had been a staunch supporter of Netflix. But the Ellisons offered a much higher price: $31 per Warner Bros. Share, plus an additional daily ticketing fee of $0.25 for each quarter that passes without the deal being approved, starting September 30, 2026. It also includes a $7 billion regulatory buyout clause should the deal fall through due to competition or regulatory issues, plus $2.8 billion to cover the termination of Netflix’s existing merger agreement. The offer is also backed by $40 billion of the personal wealth of Larry Ellison, the second richest man in the world.
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