WBD Reportedly to Tell Shareholders to Reject Paramount Skydance Bid, Stick With Accepted Netflix Offer
December 16, 2025
Warner Bros. Discovery’s special board committee is reportedly going to tell its shareholders not to accept Paramount Skydance’s $108.4 billion hostile offer, and instead stick with the accepted $82.7 billion deal (including debt) with Netflix for the company’s studio and streaming assets.
The notice to shareholders could occur as early as Dec. 17, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited sources familiar with the situation.
Netflix is offering $27.75 per share in an 80% cash, 20% stock transaction, while Paramount is offering an all-cash $30-per-share bid.
Warner, which plans to spin off its television and other assets in early 2026, reportedly is questioning Paramount’s funding, which is said to rely heavily on the assets of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, one of the richest people in the world, and a close friend of President Trump.
Paramount Skydance is run by Larry’s son, David Ellison.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, whose Affinity Partners was part of Paramount’s latest acquisition offer, has dropped out of the deal.
“The dynamics of the investment have changed significantly since we initially became involved in October,” an Affinity rep told the Journal.
Trump, who has publicly said that the highest bidder should get WBD, has also publicly stated that he would like to see WBD-owned CNN change ownership as part of any deal.
Netflix, which has no interest in WBD’s television assets, is likely to face antitrust challenges from the Trump-controlled Justice Department.
While Netflix has seen a 20% drop in its share price since announcing the Dec. 5 deal to acquire WBD assets, its market cap of $400 billion dwarfs Paramount’s $15 billion cap.
Netflix continues to be a Wall Street darling, generating $8.5 billion in profit on revenue of $33.1 billion in the first nine months of the year. Paramount has reported a loss of $48 million on revenue of $20.7 billion during the same period.
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