Warner Bros. Discovery Board Suggest Shareholders Reject Paramount’s Acquisition Offer

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has announced that its Board of Directors have unanimously recommended its shareholders reject the proposed acquisition laid out by Paramount instead of Netflix.

In a new press release, Warner Bros. Discovery states that Paramount’s aggressive acquisition offer, worth $108.4 billion, does not meet the criteria of a “Superior Proposal” under the terms of the announced merger agreement made with Netflix. “The terms of the Netflix merger are superior. The PSKY offer provides inadequate value and imposes numerous, significant risks and costs on WBD,” a letter to the board says.

“Following a careful evaluation of Paramount’s recently launched tender offer, the Board concluded that the offer’s value is inadequate, with significant risks and costs imposed on our shareholders,” Samuel A. Di Piazza, Jr., Chair of the Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors, says. “This offer once again fails to address key concerns that we have consistently communicated to Paramount throughout our extensive engagement and review of their six previous proposals. We are confident that our merger with Netflix represents superior, more certain value for our shareholders and we look forward to delivering on the compelling benefits of our combination.”

Earlier this month, Netflix announced its plans to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for $82.7 billion USD (around $115.4 billion CAD). As part of the deal, Netflix would nab IPs such as Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Batman, The Sopranos, and The Big Bang Theory. These properties would join the streamer’s library alongside Squid Game, Stranger Things, Wednesday, etc. The proposal was agreed upon in a cash and stock transaction, valued at $27.75 per WBD share. However, the deal is still awaiting regulatory approval, which US President Trump recently said “could be a problem.”

Following this announcement, Paramount made an aggressive bid, offering $30 per share. “Our public offer, which is on the same terms we provided to the Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors in private, provides superior value, and a more certain and quicker path to completion,” Paramount CEO David Ellison said at the time.

Outside of acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery’s IPS, Discovery Global will be broken off into a new publicly-traded company. This deal, which includes Discovery, CNN, and TNT, is expected to be complete by Q3 2026.