Paramount Makes $77.9B 'Hostile Bid' for Warner Bros. Discovery Following Netflix Deal

Netflix’s agreement to acquire key Warner Bros. Discovery assets has already hit turbulence.

According to The Wall Street Journal, just days after the streamer secured a landmark deal with WBD, Paramount has stepped in with an aggressive counteroffer—one that bypasses boardroom negotiations entirely and goes straight to shareholders.

On Monday, December 8, Paramount unveiled a $77.9 billion hostile bid for all of Warner Bros. Discovery, valuing the company at about $30 per share. The proposal is entirely in cash and significantly higher than Netflix’s offer.

Paramount argues that its bid delivers “$18 billion more in cash than the Netflix consideration,” according to CEO David Ellison. “We’re really here to finish what we started.”

Paramount’s latest bid instantly set up a public showdown for control of some of the most valuable IP in Hollywood—HBO, DC Comics, Harry Potter, and the global CNN brand among them.

To bolster its offer, the company said the Ellison family and RedBird Capital would fully backstop the deal, supported by $54 billion in debt commitments from Bank of America, Citi, and Apollo.

The company also disclosed equity commitments from several international sovereign funds, all of which agreed to waive voting rights. Paramount believes this structure strengthens its argument that its proposal faces fewer regulatory complications than Netflix's.

The timing is deliberate: Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders now have until January 8 to decide whether to tender their shares, unless the deadline is extended. The maneuver forces investors to weigh a premium-rich cash offer against Netflix’s previously announced agreement.

Netflix’s deal—announced Friday, December 5—valued Warner’s studio and HBO Max streaming business at $72 billion, or $27.75 per share, under a plan that would split WBD into two separate companies.

The agreement includes a $5.8 billion breakup fee, one of the largest ever in entertainment M&A.

Netflix has not commented on the new competing bid.

The streamer’s pursuit of Warner surprised many in the industry, given its history of avoiding large-scale acquisitions. But Warner estimated the Netflix deal at an effective $31 to $32 per share once the shareholder structure was considered—slightly higher than the numerical offer suggested.