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Warner Reopens Talks With Paramount, Setting the Stage for Potential Bidding War With Netflix
- On Feb. 17, 2026, Warner Bros. Discovery reopened talks with Paramount Skydance under a seven-day Netflix waiver through February 23, 2026, rejecting Paramount's $30-a-share offer but allowing a `best and final` offer, Discovery said.
- Paramount Skydance's hostile $30 bid prompted talks, with Paramount indicating it could raise to $31 if negotiations reopened, despite unresolved financing risks from Larry Ellison-backed equity and a $1.5 billion junior-lien fee.
- WBD continues to recommend the $82.7 billion Netflix transaction and is moving toward a March 20, 2026 vote, having started mailing its definitive proxy statement with a February 4, 2026 record date.
- With Netflix holding matching rights, the WBD board faces legal safeguards and pressure from activist investors Ancora and Pentwater, who support different bids, by February 23.
- Longer-Term, control of franchises and studios will reshape production investment and industry dynamics, while Discovery Global could fetch between $1.33 and $6.86 per share, impacting asset value.
336 Articles
336 Articles
CHRONIQUE. The media and entertainment group Warner Bros. Discovery opens a final round of negotiations with Paramount around its buy-out offer, rival of Netflix's. A question of price, but not only. It will remain to get the green light of the competition authorities, warns Isabelle Chaperon, columnist at the "World Economy" service.
You will have a week to convince the group to accept your offer, thanks to a derogation granted by Netflix
After Censoring CBS, Trump Will Go For CNN
After Censoring CBS, Trump Will Go For CNN by Jonathan AlterI’ve learned Trump will kill Netflix’s bid for Warner and help Paramount win, giving him control of Fox, CBS, CNN, and TikTok. But as Colbert showed, we can fight backRead on Substack Amended transcript of short video from Old Goats with Jonathan Alter: On the day after Trump’s efforts to censor Stephen Colbert blew up in his face, I have fresh reporting on why Netflix is not likely to …
WBD to Ellison: empty the piggy bank, you have seven days
The board of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has turned the M&A playbook into a high-stakes poker match. They’re betting they can squeeze a premium out of David Ellison before he realises he is essentially bidding against himself. In a move that surprised absolutely no one but exhausted everyone, WBD formally rejected the ‘sweetened’ hostile takeover bid from Ellison’s Paramount Skydance. But here lies the multi-billion-dollar catch: they have not …
Will Warner Bros. Discovery Opening Up Merger Talks Again Finally Bring Some Clarity to the Paramount vs. Netflix Back and Forth?
What does it mean that Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery offered a 7-day waiver period to Paramount to make its best and final offer?
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