WBD Says Paramount’s Takeover Bid ‘Inadequate,’ ‘Inferior’ to Netflix’s Offer
December 17, 2025
Warner Bros. Discovery’s board of directors Dec. 17 in a public letter formally told shareholders that Paramount Skydance’s hostile $108.4 billion (enterprise value) takeover bid for the company is inferior to Netflix’s accepted $82.7 billion offer for the media giant’s studio and streaming assets.
WBD’s television and other assets would be spun-off into a separate publicly traded company called Discovery Global in mid-2026.
“Following a careful evaluation of Paramount’s recently launched tender offer, the board concluded that the offer’s value is inadequate, with significant risks and costs imposed on our shareholders,” Samuel A. Di Piazza Jr., WBD board chair, wrote in the letter.
“This offer once again fails to address key concerns that we have consistently communicated to Paramount throughout our extensive engagement and review of their six previous proposals. We are confident that our merger with Netflix represents superior, more certain value for our shareholders and we look forward to delivering on the compelling benefits of our combination.”
Specifically, WBD questions the financial backing in the deal of the Ellison Family Trust, controlled by Oracle founder Larry Ellison, whose son, David Ellison, is CEO of Paramount Skydance.
Di Piazza writes that the Paramount bid includes includes a $40.65 billion equity commitment, for which there is no Ellison family commitment of any kind.
“Instead, they propose that you rely on an unknown and opaque revocable trust for the certainty of this crucial deal funding,” he wrote. “Despite having been told repeatedly by WBD how important a full and unconditional financing commitment from the Ellison family was — and despite their own ample resources, as well as multiple assurances by Paramount Skydance during our strategic review process that such a commitment was forthcoming — the Ellison family has chosen not to backstop the PSKY offer.”
In addition, the letter contends that the Paramount’s bid suggests $9 billion in cost synergies combining with WBD, which the media company said is “both ambitious from an operational perspective and would make Hollywood weaker, not stronger.”
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