Photo Credit: Getty Image
Paramount has detonated the biggest bombshell of the year by launching a $108.4 billion hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, a direct swipe at Netflix's surprise agreement announced last week. Taking its fight public, Paramount Skydance, led by CEO David Ellison, went straight to WBD shareholders on Monday with a $30-per-share all-cash offer, insisting it delivers more certainty, more value, and a faster path to the finish line.
Ellison's move comes after months of escalating bids privately rejected by the WBD board. Netflix's deal, valued at $82.7 billion and excluding WBD's cable networks such as CNN, TBS, and TNT, stunned Hollywood after Paramount had long been perceived as the frontrunner. Ellison now says the board effectively dismissed his superior proposal without engagement, prompting him to take the battle to investors directly.
According to Paramount, its plan carries an equity value of nearly $78 billion, bolstered by massive financing from Larry Ellison, RedBird Capital, and an aggregate $24 billion from the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi. Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners is also participating. All foreign investors, Paramount emphasized, have agreed to forgo voting rights and board seats, a maneuver designed to bypass CFIUS scrutiny.
Paramount argues that Netflix's $27.75-per-share mix of cash and stock represents "volatile and uncertain" value, especially given antitrust risks attached to combining the No. 1 and No. 3 global streamers. Ellison has repeatedly warned that a Netflix–WBD merger would create a market-breaking giant, threatening theatrical releases and squeezing out creative competition, concerns he again framed as "existential" for Hollywood.
For shareholders, however, the calculus centers on raw value. Paramount's offer stands $18 billion higher than Netflix's bid, fully finances the entire company, and promises closure within 12 months. Netflix maintains that spinning off WBD's cable assets would unlock meaningful long-term upside, but Paramount insists the math doesn't hold.
If WBD ultimately switches course, it must pay Netflix a $2.8 billion breakup fee. For now, the bidding war has electrified Wall Street, and thrust Hollywood into its most consequential corporate showdown in decades.
