Paramount makes higher offer for Warner Bros: sources

Paramount Skydance has submitted a higher bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The move intensifies the bidding war over key assets, including the “Harry Potter” and “Game of Thrones” franchises.

The new offer aims to address Warner Bros.’ concerns about financing certainty, though details of the revision were not disclosed.

Warner Bros. has a pending deal with Netflix, which offered US$27.7 per share, or around US$82.7 billion, to acquire the company.

Paramount’s bid is supported by Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, and Warner Bros. has asked for its “best and final” offer by February 23.

The studio plans to spin off its cable assets into Discovery Global, which could be valued between US$1.3 and US$6.9 per share.

Shareholders are scheduled to vote on the Netflix offer on March 20, a key date in the ongoing takeover negotiations.

🔗 Source: Reuters

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Paramount Skydance revised its offer to improve “financing certainty,” according to a source familiar with the matter. Warner Bros. Discovery treated Paramount’s bid as shakier than Netflix’s proposal.
Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison’s involvement puts outside money behind the Paramount Skydance bid as it competes with Netflix, which is offering US$27.7 per share, or about US$82.7 billion.
Warner Bros. Discovery plans to spin off its cable assets into a separate company called Discovery Global. That structure could leave the remaining studio assets easier for potential buyers and shareholders to assess.

Franchises such as “Harry Potter” and “Game of Thrones” keep buyers focused on owning large libraries and studio assets outright, rather than licensing content.
Netflix’s roughly US$82.7 billion offer, priced at US$27.7 per share for Warner Bros. Discovery, would move Netflix closer to owning both production and distribution.
Competing bids, plus Warner Bros. Discovery asking for a “best and final” offer by February 23 and setting a shareholder vote on the Netflix offer for March 20, may speed up broader media consolidation. Other mid-sized media companies may respond with mergers to gain scale.