This is the same bid that Warner Bros. rejected last week in favor of an offer from Netflix.
Published December 8, 2025
Paramount has taken a hostile stance in its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, challenging Netflix, which just days ago reached a $72 billion deal with the company.
Paramount announced Monday that it would make a bid worth about $74.4 billion to Warner Bros. shareholders, or the equivalent of $30 a share in cash. Unlike Netflix, the company is also proposing to buy Warner Bros.’ cable assets and is asking its shareholders to reject Netflix’s bid.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
The company said its offer is worth about $18 billion more than a competing bid from Netflix, which it claims is based on “fantasy future valuations” for these cable assets.
This is the same bid that Warner Bros. rejected in favor of an offer from Netflix in a merger that would forever change the U.S. entertainment landscape.
Paramount criticized Netflix’s proposal, saying, “WBD shareholders would be exposed to a complex and volatile mix of stock and cash, as well as a lengthy, multi-jurisdictional regulatory approval process with uncertain outcomes.”
Paramount announced that it submitted six proposals to Warner Bros. Discovery over a 12-week period.
“We believe our proposal will create a stronger Hollywood, in the best interest of the creative community, consumers and the movie theater industry,” Paramount Chairman and CEO David Ellison said in a statement. “We believe they will benefit from increased competition, increased content spending and theatrical releases, and an increase in the number of theatrically released films as a result of our proposed transaction.”
Trump’s influence
On Friday, Netflix signed a deal to acquire Hollywood giant Warner Bros. Discovery, the company behind “Harry Potter” and “HBO Max.” The cash and stock transaction values Warner at $27.75 per share, giving the company a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, including debt. The deal is expected to close within the next 12 to 18 months, after Warner completes its previously announced separation of its cable operations. The deal does not include networks such as CNN or Discovery.
But US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Netflix’s deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be problematic” because of the size of its combined market share.
The Republican president said he would be involved in deciding whether the federal government should approve the $72 billion deal.
Usha Haley, a professor at Wichita State University who specializes in international business strategy, said the relationship between Paramount and President Trump is noteworthy. Paramount CEO David Ellison is the son of longtime Trump supporter Larry Ellison, the second richest man in the world.
“He said he would be involved in the decision, and we should take what he says at face value,” Haley said of Trump. “For him, it just tightens his control over the media.”
Paramount announced in October that it had acquired the news and commentary website Free Press and made its founder, conservative opinion writer Bari Weiss, editor-in-chief of CBS News, saying it believed the country desperately needed balanced, fact-based news.
It was a bold step for the Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather and 60 Minutes television network, long seen by many conservatives as the embodiment of the liberal media establishment. The network placed individuals in leadership roles who established reputations for resisting orthodoxy and combating “woke” culture.
Paramount’s tender offer is scheduled to end on January 8, 2026, unless extended.
Shares of Warner Bros. and Paramount were up 5% to 6% at the opening bell Monday. Netflix’s stock price fell slightly.
