Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance leaders have had a busy week in negotiations, but now WBD’s board is likely to tell shareholders before the market opens on Tuesday that it is considering the bid, even as it recommends the deal with Netflix, which is scheduled for a vote on March 20.
Representatives for WBD and Paramount Skydance declined to comment late Monday. Financial terms of the new acquisition offer were not immediately disclosed.
On Monday, the WBD board ended a busy seven days by seeking Netflix’s approval to engage in discussions with Paramount to “seek clarity” about Netflix’s “best and final offer.” In a letter to Paramount’s board from Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and board chairman Samuel Di Piazza Jr., WBD asked Paramount Skydance to “clarify its proposal, which we understand includes a price per share of WBD in excess of $31.”
If WBD is officially considering an offer from Paramount Skydance, the next move in this chess game will likely come from Netflix. The streamer has four days to respond to Paramount’s new offer or could be bailed out of the bidding process. People close to the situation pointed out that WBD is legally obligated to recommend the deal it signed with Netflix, which is worth about $83 billion. Paramount submitted a $108 billion offer for all of WBD, including the cable channels. Netflix acquires Warner Bros. and HBO Max.
In an interview with Variety on February 20, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos declined to say how the streamer would respond to Paramount’s big offer. But he said Netflix has a “rich history” of being “willing to walk away and have someone else pay the excess costs.”
Under Netflix and WBD’s deal, the streamer will buy Warner Bros.’ studio and streaming business for $27.75 per share (an all-cash deal, a change from Netflix’s previous cash and stock offer last month). WBD shareholders would retain a stake in the company’s proposed spinoff entity, Discovery Global, which would house CNN, TBS, other linear networks and Discovery+.
Ellison first approached WBD CEO Zaslav in September 2025, initially offering $19 per share for Warner Bros. Discovery. This comes just weeks after Ellison’s Skydance Media completed its acquisition of Paramount Global. Paramount’s interest in WBD prompted the board to initiate a formal M&A review process, and the board selected Netflix as the successful bidder. WBD’s board of directors has rejected Paramount’s takeover bid nine times.
Paramount’s bid is backed by Larry Ellison (David’s father and tech billionaire) and Redbird Capital Partners. The company has secured debt financing from Bank of America, Citigroup, and Apollo Global Management. Paramount’s bid also includes capital from sovereign wealth funds in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
