Paramount Beats Netflix In Battle To Acquire Warner Bros For $110 Billion

• In connection with the entry into the merger agreement, Paramount has terminated its all-cash tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of WBD.
• Paramount will acquire 100% of WBD valuing WBD at $81 billion in equity value and $110 billion in enterprise value.
• Netflix declined to raise its offer for Warner Bros. and stepped away from the deal. 

Paramount Skydance announced on Friday that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement under which it will acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal with an enterprise value of $110 billion.

Paramount will pay $31.00 per share in cash for all outstanding shares of WBD. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies and is expected to close in Q3 2026. 

In connection with the entry into the merger agreement, Paramount has terminated its all-cash tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of WBD.

"From the very beginning, our pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery has been guided by a clear purpose: to honor the legacy of two iconic companies while accelerating our vision of building a next-generation media and entertainment company,” said Paramount CEO David Ellison. 

Details

Paramount will acquire 100% of WBD valuing WBD at $81 billion in equity value and $110 billion in enterprise value. Paramount expects that the acquisition will yield over $6 billion in synergies. 

The transaction is funded by $47 billion in equity, fully backed by the Ellison Family and RedBird Capital Partners. In addition to the new cash equity investment, the transaction is backed by $54 billion of debt commitments from Bank of America, Citigroup, and Apollo, which includes $15 billion to backstop WBD's existing bridge facility and $39 billion of incremental new debt.

Netflix Steeping Away

In a separate announcement, Netflix declined to raise its offer for Warner Bros. and stepped away from the deal. 

WBD had agreed to sell its studio and HBO assets to Netflix for $27.75 per share. Paramount pitched a rival bid of $31 per share for the whole company, including its cable TV networks. 

“The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval. However, we've always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance's latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid,” Netflix said on Thursday. 

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around NFLX, WBD, and PSKY stock trended in ‘extremely bullish’ territory at the time of writing. 

Shares of PSKY and WBD have risen 26% and 150%, respectively, in the past year. NFLX shares have fallen 5%  over the same period. 

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