Hollywood Shake-Up: Paramount Launches Hostile Bid for Warner Bros.

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This Monday, Paramount Skydance, led by David Ellison, made an offer to purchase all outstanding shares of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) for $30 each in an all-cash deal.

Ellison previously proposed this price in a bid to Warner Bros. Discovery’s board on December 4th. Paramount Global is interested in acquiring the entire company, including its television channels such as CNN, TBS, and TNT.

Following a deal announced Friday, Netflix will acquire Warner Bros.’ studio, along with HBO and HBO Max, for $72 billion.

Paramount values its offer at $108.4 billion, taking into account its debts. Netflix’s offer, currently at $82.7 billion (excluding its TV assets), is a combination of cash and company stock. Paramount has criticized Netflix’s offer as being unstable and complicated.

Paramount stated that its offer to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders is a better deal than the one from Netflix. They believe their offer provides more certain and higher value, and avoids a potentially lengthy and complicated regulatory review process, as well as the risks associated with a deal that combines stocks and cash.

David Ellison’s father, Larry Ellison – who co-founded Oracle – is financially supporting the deal, alongside RedBird Capital Partners.

The deal to purchase Paramount Global also received funding from several sources, including Skydance Media. A total of $24 billion will come from the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi. Jared Kushner’s company, Affinity Partners, and Tencent are also contributing financially, with Tencent committing $1 billion. Additionally, Bank of America, Citi, and Apollo Global Management are providing $54 billion in loans to help finance the purchase.

Paramount clarified that the investors from the Middle East and the group led by Jared Kushner won’t have any control over the company’s decisions. Because of this arrangement, the deal doesn’t need to be examined by the U.S. government committee that reviews foreign investments for potential national security concerns.

Larry Ellison has made multiple attempts to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), starting with an offer of $19 per share on September 14th. He increased his bids to $22 on September 30th, $23.50 on October 19th, $26.50 on December 1st, and finally $30 per share on December 4th. However, WBD’s board ultimately decided to sell to Netflix instead.

Paramount argues its bid was $18 billion more than Netflix’s. They also state that Warner Bros. Discovery’s board favored Netflix based on an overly optimistic projection for the future spin-off company, to be known as Discovery Global, and that the proposed valuation isn’t justified by the company’s financial health and relies on too much debt.

It’s uncertain whether Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav would keep a leadership role – like co-chairman or co-CEO – if Paramount, Skydance, and Warner Bros. Discovery were to merge, as John Ellison previously proposed.

Paramount’s CEO, David Ellison, stated that Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders should have the chance to review their offer to buy the entire company with cash. He emphasized that this public offer—the same one previously presented to Warner Bros. Discovery’s board—offers better value and a faster, more guaranteed completion process.

We think the Warner Bros. Discovery board is considering a worse deal that would give shareholders a combination of cash and stock, expose them to the risks of a declining cable business, and face difficult regulatory hurdles. That’s why we’re making our offer directly to shareholders, so they can decide what’s best for their investment and get the most value for their shares.

Paramount said WBD shareholders can get more information about the offer on strongerhollywood.com.

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2025-12-08 19:19