Warner Bros. remains committed to Netflix deal, rejects Paramount’s $108B bid

Warner Bros. Discovery will reportedly shoot down Paramount Skydance’s $108.4 billion hostile takeover bid, sticking with its earlier deal with Netflix that’s valued at $82.7 billion.

As per the Deadline, they all agreed the $30-a-share cash offer from Paramount isn’t good for shareholders and doesn’t count as a “Superior Proposal” under the existing agreement with Netflix.

This is the latest update in a corporate showdown that has both Hollywood and Wall Street buzzing. Two big players are fighting for the keys to one of the most iconic studios. And with the year almost over, the bidding war still isn’t done. Shareholders are left with a huge choice, one that could change the entertainment business for a long time.

The battle for Warner Bros. Discovery x Paramount Skydance/ Netflix intensifies

This story started in October 2025. Warner Bros. Discovery had just put itself on the market, thinking about its next move after fielding a bunch of buyout offers. At first, everything felt straightforward, a typical auction. Then things got intense. Suddenly, the fight was between Netflix and Paramount Skydance, led by CEO David Ellison, son of billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.

By December 5, 2025, Netflix came out on top. They struck a deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studios and streaming, including Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO, HBO Max, DC Studios, and a huge media library. The price was $27.75 a share, and they are paying partly in cash, partly in stock. But the deal only goes through after Warner Bros. Discovery spins off its Global Linear Networks into a new public company called Discovery Global. That split is supposed to wrap up sometime in the third quarter of 2026.

However, Paramount didn’t back down. Just three days after Netflix made its move, on December 8, 2025, Paramount went straight to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders with a bold hostile takeover offer. They put $30 per share on the table for the whole company, not just the studio and streaming side, which brought Warner Bros. Discovery’s total value, including debt, to $108.4 billion.

This wasn’t just talk. Paramount lined up real financial muscle behind the bid. They got funding from sovereign wealth funds in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. On top of that, Bank of America, Citi, and Apollo Global offered up $54 billion. At first, Affinity Partners, the firm owned by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, also chipped in $200 million. But Kushner stepped back from the deal on December 16, 2025.

On December 17, 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery’s board shot down Paramount’s hostile bid. In an official statement, Samuel A. Di Piazza Jr., the board chair, called the offer weak and risky, and said it would hit shareholders with unnecessary costs. This wasn’t the first time, either. Paramount had already sent over six other proposals, and every single one missed the mark on the main issues Warner Bros. Discovery kept raising.

The rejection letter went after Paramount’s financing plan and the risks that come with it. Warner Bros. Discovery pointed out the obvious: Netflix has the muscle of a $400 billion public company and a rock-solid balance sheet. Paramount, on the other hand, tried to back its offer with what the board called an “unsecure revocable trust commitment,” plus the shaky credit of a company worth $15 billion, barely hanging on to “junk” status.

The board didn’t mince words about what would happen if the deal somehow went through. The new combined company would be drowning in debt, with a gross leverage ratio of 6.8 times debt to EBITDA, and no free cash flow to speak of before any cost savings kicked in.

At the end of December 2025, Paramount sweetened its offer by bringing in a $40.4 billion personal equity guarantee from Larry Ellison. They wanted to put any doubts about their financing to rest. Still, Warner Bros. Discovery told shareholders on December 23 not to jump in just yet. The board said it would keep looking over the new Paramount Skydance offer and stick to its responsibility to act in shareholders’ best interest.

Meanwhile, Netflix has been busy shoring up its own deal. On December 22, the company reworked part of the $59 billion bridge loan it lined up for the acquisition. Regulatory filings show Netflix landed a $5 billion revolving credit line and two $10 billion delayed-draw term loans. That leaves about $34 billion of the bridge loan to be syndicated. Netflix plans to use the money to cover the cash part of the deal, pay related fees and expenses, and possibly help with refinancing and other corporate needs.

Shareholders have a tricky choice to make. They have until January 21, 2026, to decide whether to hand over their shares to Paramount. Maybe that deadline gets pushed, but for now, the clock is ticking. Alex Fitch, who manages portfolios at Harris Oakmark and owns a big chunk of Warner Bros. Discovery, calls the two deals “a toss-up.” He thinks Paramount needs to sweeten the pot if it really wants to win. Fitch has told Paramount to raise its offer, so it looks like the bidding war isn’t finished yet.

Regulation just makes everything more complex. Paramount insists that if Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery join forces, regulators will jump in because of antitrust issues. Put Netflix together with HBO Max, and you have a company with about 43% of the world’s streaming subscribers.

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Even President Donald Trump has said that he wants Warner Bros. to sell to whoever pays the most, but he is worried about Netflix getting too much power. He is also demanding that CNN, which would go to Discovery Global in the spinoff, be sold off as part of any final deal.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos isn’t worried about the deal. At the UBS Global Media Conference, he said the company feels “super confident” the deal will go through, according to Deadline. He brushed off antitrust worries, pointing out that Netflix is just getting into three new lines of business it doesn’t already have. Sarandos also said Netflix plans to spend more on content, which he sees as a win for both creators and viewers.

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