Paramount Skydance has launched a hostile $108.4 billion bid for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), an aggressive counter‑move that disrupts Netflix’s recently announced $72 billion equity deal for key WBD assets. The surprise offer escalates what has already been one of the most consequential takeover battles in modern media, with the future of Hollywood’s most valuable studios now at stake.
The all‑cash tender offer — valued at $30 per share — is aimed at acquiring the entire company, including its global networks division, HBO, Warner Bros Pictures, DC Studios and CNN. Paramount argues its proposal offers “superior value” and a faster, more certain regulatory path than Netflix’s mixed cash‑and‑equity structure CBC.ca RTÉ Ireland Yahoo Finance.
Netflix had emerged as the apparent winner just days earlier, securing a deal for WBD’s film, TV and streaming assets valued at $82.7 billion including debt, with a $5.8 billion break‑up fee attached RTÉ Ireland. Paramount’s hostile bid now forces WBD shareholders to weigh a richer offer against the likelihood of intense antitrust scrutiny in the US and Europe.
Paramount CEO David Ellison said the takeover would create a stronger, more competitive Hollywood ecosystem, arguing that the combined company would better serve “the creative community, consumers and the movie theater industry” Anadolu Agency.
The move marks the latest twist in a months‑long bidding war involving Paramount, Netflix and Comcast, each seeking to consolidate content libraries and scale up against tech giants like Apple and Amazon. Analysts say the Paramount bid could prolong the sale process, with regulatory reviews expected to be complex and politically sensitive.
For now, the future of Warner Bros Discovery — home to some of the world’s most valuable entertainment franchises — remains uncertain as shareholders assess competing visions for the company’s next chapter.
