WBD Board Rejects Revised Paramount $108.4 Billion Bid, Sticks With Accepted Netflix Offer
January 7, 2026
The board of directors of Warner Bros. Discovery Jan. 7 rejected a revised $108.4 billion hostile offer (including debt) from Paramount Skydance that included a $40.4 billion guarantee from tech billionaire Larry Ellison, father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.
The board urged Warner shareholders to accept Netflix’s Dec. 5 $82.7 billion offer for the company’s studio and streaming assets.
“The board unanimously determined that the Paramount’s latest offer remains inferior to our merger agreement with Netflix across multiple key areas,” Samuel Di Piazza, Jr., Warner’s board chair, said in a statement. “Paramount’s offer continues to provide insufficient value, including terms such as an extraordinary amount of debt financing that create risks to close, and lack of protections for our shareholders if a transaction is not completed.
“Our binding agreement with Netflix will offer superior value at greater levels of certainty, without the significant risks and costs Paramount’s offer would impose on our shareholders.”
Paramount claims its offer would have a smoother path through federal regulatory hurdles than Netflix, a stance bolstered by the Ellison’s close ties to President Trump.
Trump has said he wants to be personally involved in the regulatory process that would include the Justice Department regarding possible antitrust issues.
Paramount’s bid is set to expire Jan. 21.
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