Paramount Skydance Comes Out With Hostile Bid For Warner Bros. Discovery, Offers $18B More In Cash Than Netflix’s Consideration

• Paramount called its all-cash offer for all of Warner Bros. Discovery’s assets “superior” to Netflix’s, which was approved last week.
• Paramount’s offer values Warner Bros. Discovery at $108.4 billion, including the company’s debt, as well as cable TV networks such as CNN, the Discovery Channel, and TNT.
• In contrast, Netflix’s offer valued WBD at an enterprise value of $82.7 billion, but excluded the spinoff company.

Paramount Skydance Corp. (PSKY) on Monday announced an all-cash tender offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. (WBD), days after losing the bidding war to Netflix Inc. (NFLX).

Paramount offered $30 per share in cash, and the company stated that the proposed transaction is for the entirety of WBD, including the Global Networks segment.

The company highlighted that the latest offer provides WBD shareholders $18 billion more in cash than the consideration offered by Netflix.

Paramount Skydance shares were up nearly 8% in Monday morning’s trade, while Warner Bros. Discovery shares were up nearly 5%. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around both companies trended in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory at the time of writing.

Countering Netflix

Paramount called its all-cash offer for all of Warner Bros. Discovery’s assets “superior” to Netflix’s, which was approved last week.

“Our public offer, which is on the same terms we provided to the Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors in private, provides superior value, and a more certain and quicker path to completion,” said Paramount CEO David Ellison.

Paramount’s offer values Warner Bros. Discovery at $108.4 billion, including the company’s debt, as well as cable TV networks such as CNN, the Discovery Channel, and TNT.

In contrast, Netflix’s offer valued WBD at an enterprise value of $82.7 billion, but excluded the spinoff company.

“We believe the WBD Board of Directors is pursuing an inferior proposal which exposes shareholders to a mix of cash and stock, an uncertain future trading value of the Global Networks linear cable business and a challenging regulatory approval process,” Ellison said.

Paramount Lines Up Debt

Paramount has also lined up $54 billion in debt to fund its acquisition of WBD. The company stated in its announcement that Bank of America Corp. (BAC), Citigroup Inc. (C), and Apollo Global Management Inc. (APO) are providing the debt commitment.

Netflix had lined up $59 billion to fund its deal, with commitments from Wells Fargo & Co., BNP Paribas SA, and HSBC Plc.

PSKY stock is up 38% year-to-date, while WBD stock is up 159%.

Also See: Trump Pushes For ‘One Rule’ To Govern AI – Says Will Issue Executive Order This Week

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