Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 16, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Warner Bros is expected to reject Paramount's $108.4B bid, favoring Netflix's offer in the streaming wars. Decision due soon.
By Milana Vinn and Dawn Chmielewski
Dec 16 (Reuters) - Warner Bros Discovery's board could announce a decision as early as Wednesday on Paramount Skydance's $108.4 billion takeover bid, with the board likely to advise shareholders to vote against the offer, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The decision to recommit to Netflix's buyout offer would mark the latest twist in the race for assets that include Warner Bros' storied film and TV studio, and its extensive film and television library, whose portfolio includes classics ranging from "Casablanca" and "Citizen Kane" to contemporary favorites like "Harry Potter" and "Friends," HBO and the HBO Max streaming service.
A Warner Bros Discovery spokesman declined to comment.
The winner will gain a big advantage in the streaming wars by locking up a deep content library that has long been an acquisition target.
Netflix earlier this month emerged victorious with a $27 cash-and-stock bid for Warner Bros' non-cable assets.
Paramount CEO David Ellison then went directly to Warner Bros shareholders with a $30-a-share, all-cash bid for the whole company.
In regulatory filings, Paramount has said its bid is superior to Netflix's offer and would enjoy a clearer path to regulatory approval. Its offer is financed by $41 billion in new equity, which is backed by the Ellison family and RedBird Capital, and $54 billion of debt commitments from Bank of America, Citi and Apollo.
(Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York and Dawn Chmielewski in Los AngelesEditing by Ken Li, Dawn Kopecki and Nick Zieminski)
A merger is a business combination where two companies join to form a single entity, often to enhance operational efficiency or market reach.
Equity financing involves raising capital by selling shares of a company, allowing investors to gain ownership stakes in exchange for their investment.
A takeover bid is an offer made by an acquiring company to purchase a target company's shares, often at a premium to the current market price.
A content library refers to a collection of media assets, including films and television shows, that a company owns and can distribute or monetize.
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