Feb. 24, 2026 "Warner Bros gets a higher offer from Paramount in heated fight for the storied Hollywood studio": Today I found this article by Wyatte Grantham-Philips on BNN Bloomberg:
NEW YORK — Warner Bros. Discovery said that Paramount has raised the price of its takeover offer to US$31 per share, potentially setting the stage for a fresh bidding war with Netflix over the future of the Hollywood giant.
The company previously offered $30 per share when it first went directly to Warner stakeholders with its all-cash, hostile bid in December -- just days after Warner struck a deal to sell its studio and streaming business to Netflix for $27.75 per share.
Beyond upping its proposed purchase price, Warner said Tuesday afternoon that Paramount had increased its regulatory termination fee to $7 billion.
Paramount also agreed to move up a previously-promised “ticking fee” payable to shareholders if its deal doesn’t go through now by the end of September -- amounting to 25 cents per share, or a total of $650 million.
After briefly reopening talks with Paramount, Warner earlier confirmed that it had received a revised offer and was reviewing it. When announcing the increased price, Warner said that Paramount’s revised proposal “could reasonably be expected to lead to” a superior offer as defined under its current agreement with Netflix -- but the company’s board has still not actually determined whether Paramount’s offer is better than Netflix’s.
A Netflix spokesperson declined to comment when reached Tuesday afternoon.
A Warner Bros. Discovery buyout would reshape Hollywood and the wider media landscape -- bringing
HBO Max,
cult-favorite titles like “Harry Potter”
and, depending on who wins the Netflix v. Paramount tug-of-war,
potentially even CNN under a new roof.
Paramount wants to acquire Warner Bros. in its entirety -- including networks like CNN and Discovery.
But Netflix only wants to buy Warner’s studio and streaming business.
Warner’s board has repeatedly backed this deal, and on Tuesday maintained that its agreement with Netflix still stands.
If Warner’s board later deems Paramount’s offer to be superior, however, Netflix would then have four days to match or revise its proposal. It could also choose to walk away.
Paramount, Warner and Netflix have spent the last couple of months in a heated back and forth over who has a stronger deal.
But many lawmakers and entertainment trade groups have sounded the alarm along the way,
warning that either buyout of all or parts of Warner’s business would only further consolidate power in an industry already run by just a few major players.
Critics say that could result in
job losses,
less diversity in filmmaking
and potentially more headaches for consumers who are facing rising costs of streaming subscriptions as is.
Combined, that raises tremendous antitrust concerns -- and a Warner sale could come down to who gets the regulatory greenlight. The U.S. Department of Justice has already initiated reviews, and other countries are expected to do so.
Both Paramount and Netflix have argued that their proposals are good for consumers
and the wider industry.
And the companies have taken aim at each other publicly with regulatory arguments.
Paramount has pointed to Netflix’s much larger market value.
And it’s argued that if the streaming giant acquires Warner, it would only give it more dominance in the subscription video on demand space.
But Netflix is trying to convince regulators that it’s up against broader video libraries, particularly Google’s YouTube.
Netflix has also said that since it doesn’t currently have the same studios and film distribution that Warner does, it would
preserve
and grow those operations
-- whereas a Warner-Paramount merger would combine two of Hollywood’s last five major studios,
as well as theatrical channels
and news networks.
Politics could also come into play. President Donald Trump previously made unprecedented suggestions about his involvement in seeing a deal through, before walking back those statements and maintaining that regulatory approval will be up to the Justice Department.
Trump has a close relationship with the billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison (the father of Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison) who is heavily backing Paramount’s bid to buy Warner.
And the push to acquire Warner arrive just months after Skydance closed its own buyout of Paramount
-- in a contentious merger approved just weeks after the company agreed to pay the president $16 million to settle a lawsuit over editing at Paramount’s “60 Minutes” program on CBS.
Under new ownership, CBS has seen significant editorial shifts,
notably with the installation of Free Press founder Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News.
Critics say similar changes could happen at Warner’s CNN if Paramount’s bid is successful.
But Trump has continued to publicly lash out at Paramount over editorial decisions at CBS’ “60 Minutes.” The president also previously met with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who he called a “fantastic man.”
Wyatte Grantham-Philips, The Associated Press
Feb. 26, 2026 "Netflix declines to raise offer to buy Warner Bros., clearing way for Paramount": Today I found this article on BNN Bloomberg:
NEW YORK — NEW YORK — Netflix is declining to raise its offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business, in a stunning move that effectively puts Paramount in a position to take over the fellow storied Hollywood giant.
On Thursday, after Warner’s board announced that Skydance-owned Paramount’s offer was superior to the agreement it had previously struck with Netflix, the streaming giant said
the new price that would be required to buy Warner
would make it a deal that is “no longer financially attractive.”
Unlike Netflix’s bid, Paramount wants all of Warner’s operations, including networks like CNN and Discovery. That would put CNN under the same roof as Paramount’s CBS and combine two of Hollywood’s last five remaining studios.
The owner of HBO Max, DC Studios and popular titles like “Harry Potter” had backed Netflix’s proposal for months.
But after Skydance-owned Paramount upped its rival bid for the entire company to US$31 per share, in addition to other revisions, Warner’s board on Thursday said that the offer “constitutes a ‘company superior proposal.’”
A Paramount buyout Warner’s business would vastly reshape Hollywood and the wider media landscape. Paramount’s CBS has seen significant editorial shifts, notably with the installation of Free Press founder Bari Weiss at CBS News, under new Skydance ownership. And if Paramount’s acquisition of Warner is successful, many expect the reach of those changes to only grow.
A Paramount-Warner combo would also combine two of Hollywood’s five legacy studios that remain today, in addition to their theatrical channels. Beyond “Harry Potter,” Warner movies like “Superman,” “Barbie,” and “One Battle After Another” — as well as hit TV series like “The White Lotus” and “Succession” — would join Paramount’s content library.
Today, Paramount’s lineup of titles include “Top Gun,” “Titanic” and “The Godfather.” And beyond CBS, it owns networks like MTV and Nickelodeon, as well as the Paramount+ streaming service.
Executives at Paramount have argued that merging will be good for consumers and the wider industry. But lawmakers and entertainment trade groups have sounded the alarm — warning that a Warner takeover would only further consolidate power in an industry already run by just a few major players.
Critics say that could result in job losses, less diversity in filmmaking and potentially more headaches for consumers who are facing rising costs of streaming subscriptions as is.
Combined, that raises tremendous antitrust concerns. The U.S. Department of Justice has already initiated reviews, and other countries are expected to do so, too.
Netflix, Warner and Paramount have spent the last couple of months in a heated, public back and forth over whose deal has a better regulatory path — and offers more value for Warner shareholders. Thursday’s announcement arrived shortly after Paramount upped the ante on its offer.
Beyond increasing its proposed purchase price for Warner, the company also agreed to a regulatory termination fee of $7 billion. And Paramount pledged to move up a previously-promised “ticking fee.”
The company initially said it would pay 25 cents per share for every quarter the deal drags on past the end of the year. Now it’s agreed to pay that amount if the deal doesn’t go through by the end of September, Warner said.
But Paramount is taking on billions of dollars in debt to finance its offer. And David Ellison’s father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, is heavily backing the bid for his son’s company. Foreign sovereign wealth funds have also provided equity for the offer, drawing scrutiny.
The Ellisons also have a close relationship with President Donald Trump — bringing more politics into question. Trump previously made unprecedented suggestions about his involvement in seeing a deal through, before walking back those statements and maintaining that regulatory approval will be up to the Justice Department.
The push to acquire Warner also arrives just months after Skydance closed its own buyout of Paramount — in a contentious merger approved just weeks after the company agreed to pay the president $16 million to settle a lawsuit over editing at CBS’ “60 Minutes” program. Still, Trump has continued to publicly lash out at Paramount and “60 Minutes” since.
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