Paramount Offer Causes Division Among Warner Bros’ Biggest Backers: Report

• Warner Bros’s fifth-largest shareholder Harris Oakmark, said in an email to Reuters, that he agrees with the board’s decision to reject Paramount’s offer. 
• Pentwater Capital Management, which reportedly holds over 50 million shares, reportedly told Warner Bros it believes the board has breached its fiduciary duty to shareholders by turning down Paramount's offer.
• Mario Gabelli from Gabelli Funds that owns about 5.7 million shares of Warner Bros, said he would likely sell his WBD shares to Paramount, as per the report. 

Some of Warner Bros Discovery's (WBD) largest investors are reportedly divided on Paramount Skydance's (PSKY) sweetened bid for the company.

According to a Reuters report, while some shareholders agree with the board’s decision to reject Paramount’s offer, others believe the deal would be better from a regulatory standpoint.

Alex Fitch, partner and portfolio manager of WBD’s fifth-largest shareholder Harris Oakmark, said in an email to Reuters that he agrees with the board’s decision to reject Paramount’s offer.

Meanwhile, Matthew Halbower of Pentwater Capital Management, which reportedly holds over 50 million shares in the company, told Warner Bros Chairman in a letter sent on Wednesday that he believes the board "breached its fiduciary duty" to shareholders upon turning down Paramount's offer, as per the Reuters report.

Shareholders’ Debate

Fitch said that the deal value for Paramount’s offer wasn’t “clearly superior” to the Netflix Inc. (NFLX) deal, adding that a tie goes to the incumbent.

However, Harris Oakmark, which owns about 96 million shares, or 4% of Warner Bros as of Sept. 30 2025, would be open to changing its position about the deal if Paramount came back with a superior offer that the WBD board could engage with, Fitch said.

Meanwhile, Halbower believes Paramount’s new deal was better and would stand a higher chance of clearing regulatory scrutiny than one with Netflix, as per the Reuters report. He said in his letter that the board was not looking to inquire about the kind of improvements Paramount was willing to make to secure its bid.

If Paramount would be willing to improve its $30-per-share offer, the Warner Bros board should at least talk with them, Halbower said. He also added that his firm would not support any of Warner Bros directors at their next election.

Mario Gabelli from Gabelli Funds that owns about 5.7 million shares of Warner Bros, said he would likely sell his WBD shares to Paramount, as per the report. He said its all-cash offer was more straightforward and echoed Halbower’s sentiment about the deal having a faster path to regulatory approval.

Meanwhile, Yussef Gheriani, Chief Investment Officer of IHT Wealth Management, which holds approximately 16,000 WBD shares, told Reuters in an email that he is for the board's decision to reject Paramount's offer as the higher total value may not be worth breakup fees and borrowing costs.

Deal Update

Warner Bros’s board of directors said on Wednesday to shareholders in a letter that Paramount’s offer comes with “significant risks,” urging them not to vote in favor of Paramount’s offer.

Investors must vote before Jan. 21, 2026 to accept Paramount's latest offer of $108.4 billion, coming in at $30 a share. Meanwhile, Netflix is offering Warner Bros $27.75 a share or $82.7 billion. However, Warner Bros’s board prefers the latter because it believes the financing is more solid and that accepting Paramount's bid would push up debt.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around WBD shares and PSKY shares remained in ‘bearish’ territory over the past day amid ‘low’ message volumes. Shares of WBD were down 0.72% at the time of writing while PKSY shares were up 0.9% at the time of writing.

Meanwhile, retail sentiment around NFLX shares jumped to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’ territory over the past day amid ‘normal’ message volumes.

Shares of WBD have gained over 182% in the past year while shares of PSKY rose over 6% in the same time.

NFLX stock is up about 3.5% in the past year.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Share

·

Add us on