The other shoe drops… “Paramount on Monday mounted a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, a brazen attempt to secure a Hollywood prize snatched away by Netflix last week.
Netflix announced an $83 billion deal to buy a big part of Warner Bros. Discovery on Friday, in an agreement approved by the boards of both companies. In a news release on Monday, Paramount went around the Warner Bros. Discovery board and straight to shareholders with what it called a superior offer. Paramount said it would pay $30 per share in cash, valuing the company at around $108 billion, including debt. It said it was going to shareholders because the board of Warner Bros. Discovery is “pursuing an inferior proposal” that would lead to “a challenging regulatory approval process.” Paramount has offered to buy all of Warner Bros. Discovery, including the Warner Bros. movie studio, the HBO Max streaming service and a portfolio of cable channels including CNN. The cable channels are not part of the Netflix deal…. A key part of assessment will be whether shareholders expect that regulatory authorities will approve the transaction. The deal between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery would include Warner Bros. movie studio and HBO Max, enhancing Netflix’s market power in streaming even more. At the Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday, President Trump praised Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-chief executive, but noted that the company had a “very big market share,” adding that he would be “involved” in the regulatory review.” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/business/paramount-warner-bros-discovery-netflix.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share Sent from Gmail Mobile On Sun, 7 Dec 2025 at 6:25 PM 'Bob F' via TVorNotTV < [email protected]> wrote: > On the Kennedy Center Honors red carpet, Diaper Man-in-Chief didn't seem > too amused with the proposal, saying he'd talked with Sarandos about it and > given the potential market share, "it could be a problem." (And no, CBS > isn't doing the festivities live.) > > https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/trump-netflix-warner-bros-deal-market-share-could-problem-1236602926/ > (link) > B > > PGage, to moi, Dec 5th: > > I had bet my imaginary chips on Paramount getting WBD with all of its > Trump butt licking, and as Matt Belloni at Puck News points out this > morning, that outcome is still possible. The deal includes a $2.8 billion > payout to Netflix if Warner Bros. Discovery sells to someone else. But if > the Ellisons decide they want it badly enough, they have the resources to > outbid Netflix with an offer around $80 billion — with the $2.8 billion > penalty just the cost of doing business. > > Belloni also notes that the Trump butt licking could still pay off for > Paramount if regulators suddenly sprout antitrust wings and block the deal. > Already, Trumpy Senator Mike Lee, who chairs the relevant committee, has > expressed grave concerns — putting him in bed with the likes of Elizabeth > Warren. > > Hollywood’s creative community is freaking out at the loss of a > traditional, theatrical‑minded studio. But as others have pointed out, no > matter who bought WBD, contraction in the theatrical business was > inevitable. Paramount wasn’t going to run two parallel studios; at best, > output might have ticked up slightly, but job losses and content cuts were > always baked in from the moment of the Warner Bros. Discovery merger. > Zaslav’s mandate was simply to reduce debt enough to make the company > sellable — and he’s done just that. > > As Belloni wrote: > > “And once again, a remarkable turn of events for Zaz, who in more than > three years, managed Warner Discovery from $24 a share down to around $7 or > $8, only to be rescued by this sale [with a share price of about $27.75]. > The guy destroyed so much value and so many jobs to save his flailing > Discovery Communications, all while keeping his eye on his own outsize > compensation, and he’ll probably end up with well over $100 million in > additional winnings and either a cushy role at the new company or a spot on > the Netflix board. Kinda unbelievable.” > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/d85c1a43-490e-4e69-bfa4-5c1a74f859e4n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/d85c1a43-490e-4e69-bfa4-5c1a74f859e4n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYKt%3DF1N9CGowVyw2pdg4FgD7g8u_T1izO-hvcweYgUn0g%40mail.gmail.com.
