Hollywood
Warner Bros considers reviving sale talks with Paramount, Bloomberg reports
Board debates rival paths as ticking fees raise stakes for shareholders
NEW YORK: Warner Bros Discovery is weighing whether to reopen sale talks with Paramount Skydance, after the rival suitor sweetened its hostile bid, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Board members are debating whether Paramount could deliver a superior outcome for shareholders, though no decision has been taken and the company may yet stick with its existing deal with Netflix, the report said.
Paramount last week enhanced its proposal by offering a 25-cent-per-share quarterly “ticking fee” in cash from 2027 until the deal closes, worth roughly $650 million, and agreed to shoulder Warner Bros’ $2.8 billion breakup fee should it walk away from Netflix. The bidder, however, did not lift its $30-per-share offer, valuing the transaction at $108.4 billion including debt.
Both Netflix and Paramount are chasing Warner Bros for its film and television studios, vast content library and franchises spanning Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and DC Comics’ Batman and Superman.
Pressure on the board has intensified after activist investor Ancora Holdings, which holds a near-$200 million stake, said it would oppose the Netflix deal, arguing directors failed to engage seriously with Paramount’s rival proposal, which includes cable assets such as CNN and TNT.
