Netflix walks away from Warner Bros. bid, clearing path for Paramount

NEW YORK, United States — Netflix said Thursday it would not raise its takeover offer for Warner Bros. Discovery after deciding the deal was no longer financially attractive. This effectively ceded the media giant to a rival bid from Paramount Skydance.

The streaming giant’s co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said they were “declining to match” Paramount Skydance’s latest offer. This was after Warner Bros. Discovery’s board declared it a “Superior Proposal” under the terms of its existing merger agreement with Netflix.

The development will likely see the storied Hollywood studio and a group of TV properties that includes CNN fall into the hands of Paramount, reshaping US media.

READ: Netflix shares fall as revenue appears to stall

Without a Netflix counteroffer, the Warner Bros. Discovery board is now free to terminate its agreement with the streaming giant and proceed with Paramount.

The sweetened offer, made Monday, was the latest installment of a bidding war that has drawn White House attention. President Donald Trump insisted he had a say in the outcome.

Paramount’s revised offer

The revised Paramount offer included a purchase price of $31.00 per share in cash. This was a one-dollar increase from its earlier bid, which valued the company at around $108 billion.

Paramount has also offered a $7-billion regulatory termination fee should the deal fail to close on regulatory grounds. It also agreed to cover the $2.8-billion breakup fee Warner Bros. Discovery would owe Netflix if it walked away from their agreement.

Crucially, the proposal also includes a commitment from Oracle founder Larry Ellison to contribute additional funding if needed to support solvency requirements from Paramount’s lending banks.

Ellison is the father of Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, a Hollywood producer. He largely financed his son’s takeover of Paramount and his subsequent bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.

READ: Paramount settles Trump ’60 Minutes’ lawsuit for $16 million

Larry Ellison is also a longtime ally of President Trump. Both Paramount and Netflix have sought to curry favor with the White House.

Creating headwinds for Netflix, Republican lawmakers came out against the company during the deal process. They accused it of promoting pro-trans content on its platform, something co-CEO Ted Sarandos strenuously denied.

Just hours before withdrawing from the bidding war, Sarandos was filmed entering the White House on Thursday for talks with officials — though not the president, according to CNBC.

A victory by Paramount would see CNN — often the target of Trump’s threats and criticism — pass to Ellison family control. This, amid criticism that their takeover of Paramount-owned CBS brought personnel changes more to the White House’s liking. AFP