Hollywood’s biggest bidding war just got its most dramatic twist yet. Warner Bros. Discovery officially reopened talks with Paramount Skydance this Tuesday giving the studio a 7-day window, until February 23, to put its best and final offer on the table. And yes, Netflix is still very much in the picture.
The $30-a-share offer wasn’t enough, But $31 might open the door
Warner Bros. Discovery rejected Paramount’s latest $30-a-share hostile bid, but left the door open by giving the company until February 23 to come back with something stronger. The twist? A Paramount financial adviser had already hinted that if Warner Bros. agreed to reopen talks, Paramount would be willing to go up to $31 per share, and that wouldn’t even be their best offer.
That detail alone was enough to get Warner’s board back to the negotiating table. Paramount’s current offer values the whole company at around $108.4 billion, while Netflix’s competing bid sits at $82.7 billion, but only for Warner’s studio and streaming operations, not the full package including CNN and cable networks.
Still, Warner’s board chairman Samuel DiPiazza Jr. and CEO David Zaslav made it clear in a letter to Paramount that they haven’t changed their stance just yet: “Our Board has not determined that your proposal is reasonably likely to result in a transaction that is superior to the Netflix merger.”
Netflix Is watching, and it can match any new offer
Here’s what makes this whole thing even more interesting: Netflix granted Warner Bros. a one-week waiver specifically so both sides could discuss unresolved deficiencies and clarify certain terms of Paramount’s latest bid. And Netflix made it very clear they’re not sweating it, they called Paramount’s moves nothing short of “antics.”
Netflix retains the right to match any improved offer Paramount puts forward, which means even if Paramount comes back swinging with $32 or $33 per share, Netflix could simply match it and keep the deal intact.
Analysts at Raymond James noted that if Paramount were to push the price to that range, it would be “increasingly difficult to argue the Netflix agreement is superior”, but added that “Netflix is still in the driver’s seat.”
Warner’s board is still recommending shareholders vote in favor of the Netflix deal at a special meeting scheduled for March 20.
The clock is ticking for Paramount
This saga has been going on for months now. Paramount made six different offers in the 12 weeks before Warner Bros. announced its Netflix merger in December, and the board allegedly “never meaningfully engaged” with any of them.
A hostile bid launched shortly after was also rejected, as was a revised offer that included a personal $40 billion equity guarantee from Oracle founder Larry Ellison, yes, the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.
Now with less than a week on the clock and a Netflix shareholder vote just a month away, the pressure is entirely on Paramount to deliver. As analyst Paolo Pescatore from PP Foresight put it, “Time is running out for Paramount with this saga wrangling on for way too long, which is in no one’s interest. For now the ball is in Paramount’s court.”
The entertainment world is watching closely. By February 23, we’ll know if Hollywood’s most intense bidding war is heading toward a surprise ending, or if Netflix was always going to walk away with the prize.
What do you think, can Paramount pull off a last-minute offer convincing enough to flip Warner’s board, or is Netflix’s deal already a done deal? Drop your take in the comments, we want to hear it!