Ain’t no party like a monopoly party, ‘cause a monopoly party only has one attendee.
Kevin M. (RPCV) On Mon, Dec 8, 2025 at 6:39 AM PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > 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 > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYKt%3DF1N9CGowVyw2pdg4FgD7g8u_T1izO-hvcweYgUn0g%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. 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