Paramount boosts Warner Bros offer to rival Netflix in takeover bid

Warner Bros says the latest proposal could convince it to abandon the deal it struck with Netflix.

Paramount has increased its takeover offer for Warner Bros. Discovery to $31 per share, raising the stakes in a bidding war with Netflix. The previous offer stood at $30 per share since December when Paramount launched a hostile bid to challenge Warner’s existing agreement to sell its studio and streaming business to Netflix for $27.75 per share.

Paramount Skydance has increased its acquisition bid for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) from $30 to $31 per share. This revised proposal is seen by WBD as potentially superior and could reignite a bidding war, particularly with Netflix. The new offer includes a quarterly ticking fee of $0.25 per share starting after September 30 and incorporates a $7 billion termination fee.

Paramount, which is pursuing a hostile $108.4bn (£76.8bn) takeover directly with WBD shareholders, has now sweetened its previous $30-a-share offer. The offer for the entirety of Warner Bros Discovery includes covering a $2.8bn fee owed to Netflix if WBD pulled out of their agreement; Paramount is also offering to backstop a multibillion-dollar refinancing to eliminate $1.5bn in costs.

Warner Bros. Discovery said Tuesday that Paramount Skydance’s revised offer may top a bid from Netflix — the latest twist in the high-profile auction to claim one of Hollywood’s corporate jewels. Paramount late Monday offered to buy all of Warner Bros. Discovery for $31 a share plus an additional amount if the deal fails to close by later this year.

Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday said Paramount Skydance increased its all-cash offer for the legacy media company, suggesting the revised bid may be superior to a potential Netflix takeover, extending the contest to acquire the Hollywood studio. Paramount’s revised bid offered $31 per share for the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery, up from $30 per share, in addition to a $7 billion break-up fee should a merger with Paramount fail to win regulatory approval and $2.8 billion for Warner Bros. Discovery to abandon its deal with Netflix.

Warner Bros. Discovery said on Tuesday that Paramount Skydance had raised its bid to acquire the entertainment and media company to $31 per share. The revised offer raises the heat on streaming giant Netflix, which in December agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery for $27.75 per share, or $82.7 billion, to match Paramount Skydance's bid or abandon the deal. Still, Warner Bros. Discovery said in a news release that its board of directors has not determined whether Paramount Skydance's latest offer is superior to Netflix's deal.

Paramount has officially raised its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, to $31 per share, and now the WBD board says it is extending the window for talks with Paramount about a possible deal. In addition to the higher price per share, Paramount has also sweetened its proposal in several other ways, including by promising “a $7 billion regulatory termination fee” to WBD “in the event the transaction does not close due to regulatory matters.”

Warner Bros. Discovery says it's reviewing a new takeover offer from Paramount but it continues to recommend a competing offer from Netflix to its shareholders. Warner disclosed Tuesday that it had received a revised proposal after a seven-day window to renew talks with Paramount elapsed on Monday. Skydance-owned Paramount confirmed that it had submitted a revised proposal, but did not provide further details on the latest bid. The company was widely expected to have raised its offer price.

Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday said Paramount Skydance increased its all-cash offer for the legacy media company, suggesting the revised bid may be superior to a potential Netflix takeover, extending the contest to acquire the Hollywood studio. Paramount’s revised bid offered $31 per share for the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery, up from $30 per share, in addition to a $7 billion break-up fee should a merger with Paramount fail to win regulatory approval and $2.8 billion for Warner Bros. Discovery to abandon its deal with Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery said. Paramount would also pay a 'ticking fee'—a payment the buyer typically pays to a company after a deal is reached if closing is delayed—of $0.25 per share per quarter if its deal to acquire the company isn’t closed by Sept.