Paramount Escalates Bid to Take Over Warner Bros. Discovery
The enhanced bid maintains Paramount's $30-per-share cash offer but now includes a quarterly compensation mechanism for delays. Should regulatory reviews push the deal closure past Dec. 31, Warner Bros. Discovery investors will receive $0.25 per share every three months—approximately $650 million in aggregate—signaling Paramount's confidence in securing antitrust clearance.
Paramount CEO David Ellison framed the sweetened terms as proof of the company's determination to complete the acquisition.
"The additional benefits of our superior $30 per share, all-cash offer clearly underscore our strong and unwavering commitment to delivering the full value WBD shareholders deserve for their investment," Ellison said in a statement. "We are making meaningful enhancements – backing this offer with billions of dollars, providing shareholders with certainty in value, a clear regulatory path, and protection against market volatility."
In another major concession, Paramount announced it would absorb the $2.8 billion breakup fee owed to Netflix if Warner Bros. Discovery terminates its existing merger agreement.
The bidding war erupted Dec. 8, 2024, when Paramount first disclosed its $108.4 billion enterprise value proposal to acquire all outstanding WBD shares at $30 each—a move that directly challenged Netflix's pending transaction.
Three days earlier, Netflix had unveiled its own blockbuster deal: a $72 billion equity purchase of Warner Bros.' film and television production divisions, encompassing the premium HBO cable network and HBO Max streaming platform, totaling $82.7 billion in enterprise value.
Warner Bros. Discovery's board swiftly moved to protect the Netflix agreement, issuing a Dec. 17, 2025 recommendation urging shareholders to reject Paramount's approach and honor the existing pact.
Paramount countered on Dec. 22, 2025, with a revised all-cash proposal backed by billionaire Larry Ellison, who personally guaranteed $40.4 billion in equity financing for the transaction.
Despite the upgraded terms, WBD's directors again recommended rejection on Jan. 7, maintaining their support for Netflix's competing bid.
Undeterred, Paramount reaffirmed its $30-per-share offer Jan. 8, setting the stage for what could become one of the entertainment industry's most contentious takeover battles.
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