Paramount counters Netflix with bold all-cash bid for Warner Bros. Discovery
Paramount has made a public tender offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for $30 per share, positioning its all-cash proposal as a faster, more certain, and higher-value alternative to the recently announced Netflix transaction, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
According to the statement, the offer, disclosed on December 8, aims to provide what Paramount described as “a superior and more certain path to completion” for WBD shareholders compared with the competing deal agreed with Netflix.
The bid values the company at an enterprise level of $108.4 billion and represents a 139 percent premium to WBD’s undisturbed share price of $12.54, recorded on September 10. Paramount said its proposal would deliver $18 billion more in cash to shareholders than the Netflix agreement, which values WBD at $27.75 per share through a mix of $23.25 in cash and $4.50 in stock, equating to an enterprise value of $82.7 billion and excluding the planned spinoff of WBD’s Global Networks business.
The company said its proposal offers advantages in price, structure, and regulatory certainty. Unlike the Netflix transaction, which excludes the Global Networks division and relies on a combined cash-and-stock structure subject to market volatility, Paramount’s bid is fully in cash and seeks to acquire WBD in its entirety.
Paramount also expressed confidence that regulatory clearance could be achieved quickly, arguing that its transaction would enhance competition, while raising concerns that the Netflix combination could face significant scrutiny due to potential market concentration in global subscription video-on-demand markets.
If completed, Paramount said the combination would create a scaled global media company spanning film studios, television networks, streaming platforms, and sports rights. The company highlighted plans to maintain the studios of both groups, continue theatrical releases, expand direct-to-consumer services through the integration of Paramount+ and HBO Max, and build a broad sports portfolio covering properties such as the NFL, the Olympics, the UFC, and major U.S. college leagues.
Paramount also projected more than $6 billion in cost synergies, in addition to over $3 billion in standalone efficiencies already targeted under its restructuring plans.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that U.S. President Donald Trump would personally take part in the review of the proposed merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery.
