Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 7, 2026
6 min readLast updated: March 1, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleNetflix proposes an all-cash offer for Warner Bros Discovery, maintaining an $82.7 billion valuation amid a competitive bidding war.
Feb 27 (Reuters) - Warner Bros Discovery on Friday entered an agreement to be acquired by Paramount Skydance in a $110 billion deal, ending a high‑stakes bidding war after Netflix withdrew from its agreement with the HBO Max owner.
Here is a timeline from the founding of Time Inc and Warner Bros to the company's latest breakup and potential sale.
Date Event
1923 Warner Bros was founded by brothers Harry,
Albert, Sam and Jack Warner as a film studio
in Hollywood. It revolutionized cinema with
the introduction of synchronized sound in
films.
1969 Kinney National Company, a conglomerate that
later transitioned into media, buys Warner
Bros-Seven Arts and later spins off its
non-media businesses.
1972 HBO is founded by Charles Dolan with backing
from Time. It was the first U.S.
subscription-based cable network, offering
uncut, commercial-free movies and live
sports, pioneering premium cable television.
1990 Time Inc merges with Warner Communications in
a $14 billion deal, hailed as a "marriage of
content and distribution", creating Time
Warner, then the largest media company in the
world.
1996 Time Warner merges with Turner Broadcasting,
gaining Cartoon Network, CNN, TNT and a vast
film library of classic films.
2000 Time Warner merges with AOL, forming AOL Time
Warner, the largest merger in history at the
time, aiming to marry traditional and digital
media.
2002 AOL Time Warner merger begins to unravel as
AOL's value collapses with the launch of an
SEC investigation, prompted by allegations of
accounting irregularities and inflated
revenue reports at AOL.
2003 CEO Steve Case resigns from AOL Time Warner.
2004 Time Warner sells Warner Music to a private
equity group led by Edgar Bronfman Jr. for
$2.6 billion.
2009 Time Warner fully spins off Time Warner
Cable, which had already been partially
separated in 2007, ending its role in cable
distribution.
2009 Time Warner spins off AOL.
2013 Time Warner spins off Time, its magazine
division, which includes Time, People,
Fortune and Sports Illustrated, marking its
formal exit from publishing.
2016 AT&T announces acquisition of Time Warner for
$85 billion.
2018 AT&T completes its acquisition of Time Warner
after regulator approval, renaming it
WarnerMedia.
2021 AT&T announces it will spin off WarnerMedia
and merge it with Discovery Inc to create a
new standalone media company.
2022 WarnerMedia and Discovery complete their
merger in a $43 billion deal.
June 9, Warner Bros Discovery announces it will
2025 separate into two companies — one focusing on
streaming and studios businesses, while the
second will house its cable TV assets.
October 21, Warner Bros Discovery's board rejects a
2025 Paramount Skydance offer of nearly $60
billion, or $24 per share, a source familiar
with the matter exclusively tells Reuters.
The company says it is weighing a potential
sale amid interest from several suitors.
November Warner Bros Discovery's board wants Paramount
18, 2025 Skydance to sweeten its bid to $30 per share,
valuing the company at $74.34 billion, Axios
reports.
November Warner Bros Discovery receives preliminary
21, 2025 buyout bids from Paramount Skydance, Comcast
and Netflix — who were asked to improve their
offers.
December 1, Warner Bros Discovery receives a second round
2025 of bids, including a mostly cash offer from
Netflix.
December 4, Paramount Skydance accuses Warner Bros
2025 Discovery of running an unfair sale process
that favors Netflix over other bidders, CNBC
reports, citing a letter sent by the newly
merged media company.
December 5, Netflix is in exclusive talks to
2025 buy Warner Bros Discovery's film and
television studios along with its streaming
assets after offering $28 per share, a source
says.
December 5, Netflix agrees to buy Warner Bros Discovery's
2025 film and TV studios and streaming division
for $72 billion, or $27.75 per share.
December 9, Paramount Skydance makes a hostile bid for
2025 Warner Bros Discovery in a deal valued at
$108.4 billion or $30 per share.
December Warner Bros Discovery's board rejects
17, 2025 Paramount Skydance's hostile $108.4 billion
bid, saying it failed to provide adequate
financing assurances.
December Paramount Skydance amends its offer to buy
23, 2025 Warner Bros Discovery to include a $40.4
billion personal guarantee from Larry
Ellison.
January 7, Warner Bros Discovery rejects Paramount
2026 Skydance's amended hostile bid despite Larry
Ellison's guarantee.
January 12, Paramount Skydance files lawsuit to force
2026 Warner Bros Discovery to disclose details of
its deal with Netflix and plans to nominate
directors to Warner Bros Discovery's board.
January 20, Netflix amends its bid to an all‑cash offer
2026 for Warner Bros Discovery's studio and
streaming units and secures unanimous
approval from the Warner Bros board without
increasing the $82.7 billion purchase price.
January 22, Paramount Skydance extends its hostile tender
2026 offer for Warner Bros Discovery to February
20, seeking more time to win investors.
February 3, U.S. senators grill Netflix co-CEO Ted
2026 Sarandos at a hearing over how the company's
acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery would
affect competition in the entertainment
industry.
February 5, U.S. President Donald Trump says he will stay
2026 out of the bidding war for Warner Bros
Discovery, a reversal from his comments late
last year.
February Paramount Skydance revises its $30-per-share
10, 2026 all-cash offer for Warner Bros, adding a
25-cent-per-share fee for every quarter the
transaction does not close beyond December
31, 2026. Paramount also says it will fund
the $2.8 billion termination fee Warner Bros
owes Netflix if the deal falls through.
February Warner Bros rejects Paramount's revised bid
17, 2026 and gives the Hollywood Studio seven days to
see if it can come up with a better deal to
buy the owner of HBO Max and the "Harry
Potter" franchise.
February Warner Bros Discovery says it is considering
24, 2026 a sweetened bid from Paramount Skydance
without disclosing the value of the deal.
February Warner Bros Discovery opens the door to
24, 2026 Paramount after its CEO, David Ellison,
raises the offer to $31 per share.
February Netflix refuses to raise its offer for Warner
26, 2026 Bros after the coveted Hollywood studio said
Paramount Skydance's revised $31-a-share
offer was superior to its existing deal with
the streaming giant.
Paramount pays the $2.80 billion
February termination fee that Warner Bros owed
27, 2026 Netflix, streaming giant discloses in SEC
filing
February Warner Bros Discovery enters an agreement to
27, 2026 be acquired by Paramount Skydance at $81
billion in equity value, in a transaction
expected to close in the third quarter of
2026.
(Reporting by Kritika Lamba, Meghana Khare, Anhata Rooprai, and Arnav Mishra in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Manya Saini and Sneha S K; Editing by Leroy Leo, Arun Koyyur, Shinjini Ganguli, Pooja Desai, Tasim Zahid and Maju Samuel)
A merger is a business combination where two companies join to form a single entity, often to enhance competitiveness, expand market reach, or achieve synergies.
Corporate governance refers to the systems, principles, and processes by which companies are directed and controlled, ensuring accountability and transparency to stakeholders.
Investment financing is the process of raising capital to fund investments in projects, assets, or business ventures, often through loans, equity, or other financial instruments.
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