Paramount Raises Bid for Warner, Rekindling Competition with Netflix

The battle between Paramount and Netflix to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (hereinafter Warner Bros.) has reignited.

Reuters and Yonhap News

Bloomberg and Reuters reported on the 23rd (local time), citing sources, that Paramount has submitted an acquisition proposal to Warner Bros. on improved terms compared with its previous offer.

The exact amount has not been disclosed, but it is said to be higher than the earlier offer of 30 dollars per share, for a total of 108.4 billion dollars. In particular, Paramount has secured a funding backstop of about 40 billion dollars from Larry Ellison, the billionaire chairman of Oracle and father of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Ellison. According to the sources, this move is intended to address Warner Bros.' concerns about the certainty of financing.

In December last year, Warner Bros. agreed to sell its studio and its streaming service division, HBO Max, to Netflix for 27.75 dollars per share, or a total of 82.7 billion dollars. However, after Paramount proposed to shoulder the 2.8 billion dollars termination fee that would arise from canceling the contract, the board of directors began reassessing the competing offers.

Warner Bros. and Paramount engaged in renegotiations for seven days, with the deadline set for that day. According to Bloomberg, if the Warner Bros. board determines that Paramount's new proposal is a "superior offer," Netflix will have four days to respond.

If Paramount prevails in the acquisition battle, a mega integrated media group spanning content production and distribution, broadcasting, cable, and streaming could emerge, potentially creating a competitive landscape on par with Disney. On the other hand, if Netflix is confirmed as the final acquirer, some observers expect it could secure a subscriber base of up to around 500 million.