Feb 17 (Reuters) – Warner Bros Discovery has rejected Paramount Skydance’s latest $30-a-share hostile takeover bid, but is giving the Hollywood studio seven days to see if it can come up with a better deal to buy the owner of HBO Max and the “Harry Potter” franchise, Warner Bros said in a statement.
Paramount informally broached an even higher share price, $31 a share, Warner Bros said, apparently enticing the board to the table.
Paramount now has until February 23 to submit its “best and final offer”, which Netflix is allowed to match under the terms of the merger agreement, Warner Bros said on Tuesday.
Here is how both the bids compare:
Netflix Paramount Skydance
Savings $2 billion to $3 Combined business will
billion in annual execute more than $6
savings billion in cost
synergies
Offer All-cash $27.75 per All-cash tender offer of
share $30.00 per share and a
ticking fee of 25 cents
per share for every
quarter the deal does
not close starting
January 1, 2027
Premium 121.3% to Warner Bros 139% to the undisturbed
Discovery’s closing Warner Bros’ stock price
price on September 10 of $12.54 as of
September 10
Closing Between 12 months and More than 12 months
18 months
CEOs Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos David Ellison
and Greg Peters
Backers and Debt funding of up to Amended offer is fully
financing $59 billion via Wells financed by an increased
Fargo, BNP Paribas, $43.6 billion of equity
HSBC Bank, along with commitments from the
cash on hand Ellison family and
RedBird Capital
Partners, a personal
guarantee from Larry
Ellison of $43.3
billion, and $54 billion
of debt commitments from
Bank of America,
Citigroup and Apollo.
Other financing partners
include Saudi Arabia’s
Public Investment Fund,
Abu Dhabi-based L’imad
Holding Company PJSC,
Qatar Investment
Authority
Value Enterprise value of Enterprise value of $108
$82.7 billion, equity billion, equity value of
value of $72.0 billion $78 billion
Breakup fee Netflix to pay $5.8 Paramount to pay $5.8
billion, Warner Bros billion. It has also
to pay $2.8 billion agreed to cover the $2.8
billion breakup-fee
Warner Bros owes
Netflix. It also said it
would backstop Warner
Bros’ planned debt
exchange, eliminating
the risk of a potential
$1.5 billion fee owed to
bondholders and would
grant WBD the same
interim operating
flexibility it
negotiated with Netflix.
Streaming Over 325 million 79.1 million
subscribers
U.S. “I haven’t been Trump in a post on Truth
President involved,” Trump said Social criticized CBS
Donald in an interview with and its new owners after
Trump’s NBC News in February. Paramount was acquired
comments “I must say, I guess by Skydance. He said
I’m considered to be a that since the
very strong president. acquisition, the program
I’ve been called by 60 minutes has “actually
both sides. It’s the gotten worse.” In the
two sides, but I’ve past, however, Trump has
decided I shouldn’t be praised Paramount
involved. The Justice Skydance CEO David
Department will handle Ellison, calling him
it.” Previously, Trump “great”.
has said, “Netflix is
a great company.
They’ve done a
phenomenal job. Ted is
a fantastic man… They
have a very big market
share and when they
have Warner Bros., you
know, that share goes
up a lot so, I don’t
know.”
Market cap Valued at Valued at
$324.56 billion as of $11.06 billion as of
closing price on closing price on
February 13. February 13.
Assets on Warner Bros’ film and All of Warner Bros
the line television studios, Discovery including
videogame IP and film, television,
developers, HBO streaming, gaming and
network and its cable television
content library, and networks including HBO
the HBO Max streaming and CNN.
service.
Source: Company filings, LSEG data, media reports
(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala, Anhata Rooprai and Arnav Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Sriraj Kalluvila)
