Paramount Raises $31 a Share Offer for Warner Bros Discovery, Pressuring Netflix Deal

Paramount Skydance has escalated its pursuit of Warner Bros Discovery with a richer takeover bid, intensifying a high-stakes contest that could derail the company’s existing agreement with Netflix.

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Warner Bros confirmed that Paramount has increased its all-cash proposal to $31 per share $1 higher than its previous formal offer — and included additional protections designed to make the bid more attractive to shareholders. The company’s board said the revised terms could potentially lead to a “superior proposal,” and it will now enter deeper discussions with Paramount before deciding whether to walk away from its December agreement with Netflix.

Under the existing deal, Netflix agreed to acquire Warner Bros’ film and streaming operations including HBO in a transaction valued at about $82bn, or $27.75 per share including debt. The remainder of Warner Bros’ assets, such as its traditional TV networks and CNN, would be spun off into a separate standalone company.

Paramount’s latest move shifts the dynamics. In addition to the higher share price, the bidder has pledged to pay a $7bn reverse break-up fee if the transaction collapses. It also committed to covering the $2.8bn termination fee Warner Bros would owe Netflix if it abandons their merger agreement.

Netflix now has four days to respond with a counter-offer. Co-chief executive Ted Sarandos recently described the negotiations as “price discovery,” signaling discipline rather than aggression in a potential bidding war. He declined to speculate on how far Netflix would be willing to go.

Paramount, backed by technology billionaire Larry Ellison and led by his son David Ellison, has been vocal about its ambition to transform itself into a dominant Hollywood force. Securing Warner Bros in full — rather than just its streaming and film divisions would dramatically expand its scale and influence across studios, television, and news.

Political scrutiny hangs over both proposals. Lawmakers in Washington have raised concerns about consolidation in the entertainment sector, questioning how either deal might affect competition, cinema operators, and consumers.

For now, Warner Bros’ board has not committed to either path. But with Paramount upping the financial stakes and Netflix under pressure to decide whether to match or exceed the offer, the battle for one of Hollywood’s most storied companies appears far from settled.

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