Netflix reportedly weighs higher bid in Warner Bros battle

Netflix has indicated it has the financial capacity to increase its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery if a competing offer from Paramount Skydance emerges, according to sources.

The companies are engaged in a bidding war over Warner Bros.’ studio and streaming assets, including franchises like Harry Potter and Game of Thrones.

Netflix has bid US$82.7 billion, or US$27.75 per share, while Paramount has offered US$108.4 billion, or US$30 per share, for the entire company.

Warner Bros. has scheduled a shareholder vote on Netflix’s offer for March 20.

It has given Paramount until February 23 to submit a more competitive bid.

Netflix reportedly holds about US$9 billion in cash, providing flexibility to raise its offer.

Warner Bros.’ board has expressed support for a deal with Netflix, but Paramount plans to nominate directors at the upcoming annual meeting.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Paramounts higher offer brings more risk

Paramounts proposal looks larger, yet Warner Bros. Discoverys board questioned the financing and the combined companys stability 1.
A merged Paramount-WBD would carry 6.8x estimated 2026 debt to EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, a common proxy for operating profit), and WBD described Paramount Skydances credit rating as at or only a notch above junk status 1.
WBD said the Netflix merger has support from a public company with a market cap above $400 billion plus an investment-grade balance sheet 1.
Paramounts bid covers all of WBD, including the Global Networks segment, yet the Netflix deal plans to split certain assets into Discovery Global, including linear assets, meaning traditional scheduled cable TV channels, which blurs any direct price comparison 2 1.

The deal draws antitrust reviews and possible limits

The contest has sparked reviews in the US and the UK, including Department of Justice attention plus calls from UK lawmakers for a CMA investigation (the Competition and Markets Authority, the UKs competition regulator) over concerns about less competition and higher prices 3 4.
A Netflix acquisition would create a streaming giant with an estimated 33% of the U.S. market, which the author says merger guidelines treat as presumptively illegal 5.
Director James Cameron warned the deal could be disastrous for cinemas and could shrink consumer choice 6.
Even with a winning bidder, regulators may require remedies or conditions that reshape how content gets made and distributed for years 5 7.