The Ellison-owned media giant will now give investors until February 20 to consider bids.
Published January 22, 2026
Paramount Skydance has extended the deadline for its hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery by a month, giving it time to convince investors that its bid is better than Netflix’s.
The Ellison-owned media company on Thursday extended the deadline to Feb. 20 to consider a $77.9 billion proposal to buy Warner stock for $30 a share in cash. The total enterprise value of this bid is more than $108 billion, including debt.
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The extension is the second time Paramount has pushed back the deadline after it challenged the Warner-Netflix merger agreement last month.
Earlier this month, Warner’s board rejected Paramount’s revised bid that included $40 billion in stock personally guaranteed by Larry Ellison, Oracle co-founder and father of Paramount CEO David Ellison. Larry Ellison is also a close ally of US President Donald Trump.
As of late Wednesday, Paramount announced that more than 168.5 million Warner shares had been tendered in favor of its offer. This is still far below the 50% threshold required to gain control of the company, which has approximately 2.48 billion shares of Series A common stock outstanding.
“Once again, Paramount continues to make the same offer that the board has repeatedly and unanimously rejected in favor of a superior merger agreement with Netflix,” Warner said in an emailed statement Thursday, adding that “it is clear that shareholders are in agreement” with more than 93% rejecting “Paramount’s inferior plan” so far.
In December, Netflix agreed to buy Warner Studios and its streaming business for $72 billion. This week, the company changed its offer from a combination of cash and stock to an all-cash deal. The companies say this is simpler and speeds the path to a shareholder vote in April. Including debt, the deal would have an enterprise value of about $83 billion, or $27.75 per share.
But Paramount insists its offer is better and accuses Warner’s management of a lack of transparency with shareholders.
The company said Thursday that Warner’s board is “fast-tracking stockholder approval” of the Netflix merger and warned that debt from a previously announced spinoff of Warner’s network business could reduce its eventual dividend to shareholders.
The battle over Warner is complicated by the fact that Netflix and Paramount are pursuing different assets.
If successful, the deal would reshape Hollywood by transferring control of franchises from Friends to Batman and the HBO Max streaming service to a single buyer.
Netflix contract drags on
Netflix’s bid covers only Warner’s studio and streaming businesses, including HBO Max and its TV and film production division. Paramount’s proposal, by contrast, covers the entire company, including its news and cable operations, and could bring CNN under the same roof as CBS.
If Netflix wins, Warner’s network would be spun off into a separate company called Discovery Global, under previously announced plans.
The sale of Warner Bros. Discovery is expected to be a lengthy process and is expected to face intense antitrust scrutiny. Politics is likely to play a role under President Trump, who has made unprecedented hints about personal involvement in the confirmation process.
The Ellisons argue that their relationship with President Trump makes regulation easier. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on Tuesday’s post-earnings conference call that the company has made progress toward securing the necessary approvals.
On Wall Street, Paramount Skydance rose 1.9% and Warner Bros. Discovery fell 0.4%. Netflix is down 2.5% in intraday trading.
