Film Production
WBD says 93 per cent of shareholders reject Paramount’s bid in favour of Netflix deal
Washington: Warner Bros. Discovery has slammed Paramount Skydance’s latest $30/share takeover bid, claiming over 93 per cent of its shareholders have rejected what it called an “inferior scheme” in favour of the $83 billion Netflix deal.
Paramount, backed by David Ellison, his father Larry Ellison and partners including RedBird Capital and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, last week extended its cash offer for WBD shareholders until 20 February. The media company is also pushing to win support at a special shareholder meeting expected in April.
WBD’s board has turned down Paramount’s advances eight times, insisting the Netflix merger is superior. “Our shareholders agree, with more than 93 per cent rejecting Paramount’s inferior scheme. We remain confident of regulatory approval and the tremendous value our deal with Netflix will deliver,” the company said.
Netflix sweetened its deal on 20 January, switching to an all-cash $27.75/share offer to quash Paramount’s argument that its bid was superior because it was cash-only. The WBD-Network deal is set to close 12-18 months after the original 4 December 2025 agreement, pending regulatory clearance and shareholder approval, following WBD’s planned spin-off of Discovery Global, including CNN, TNT, TBS, HGTV and Discovery+.
Paramount has sued WBD board members to force disclosure of financial details for Discovery Global, claiming shares would be worthless. WBD countered with projections showing Discovery Global’s implied equity value at $2.41–$3.77 per share, and potential acquisition value at $4.63–$6.86 per share.
Paramount insists WBD is still hiding key debt figures for Discovery Global, pegged at $17 billion for June 2026. Netflix has agreed to reduce the debt burden by $260 million. Paramount warns any reallocation of debt back to WBD’s streaming and studios business would cut shareholder payouts dollar-for-dollar under the Netflix deal.
Netflix plans to fund the acquisition with $20 billion cash and $52 billion debt, having secured $42.2 billion in financing from Wells Fargo, BNP and HSBC. WBD would retain $10.7 billion in net debt post-sale.
With Paramount reluctant to raise its $30/share bid and WBD shareholders overwhelmingly backing Netflix, the battle looks set to be a drawn-out, bruising slugfest — and one the Ellisons may struggle to win.
Film Production
Priyanka Kaur Dhillon joins SVF Entertainment as lead for music distribution
A seasoned content dealmaker with 16 years in digital and satellite media joins the Bengali entertainment powerhouse as it pushes into the pan-India music market
Mumbai: Priyanka Kaur Dhillon has made her move. The content acquisitions and commercials veteran, most recently commercial manager at Sony Pictures Networks India, has joined SVF Entertainment as lead for music distribution, stepping into one of the more interesting briefs in regional entertainment right now.
SVF is no ordinary regional label. Over 30 years it has built a formidable legacy in Bengali cinema and music, driven by culturally resonant storytelling and a catalogue that consistently punches above its weight. Its recent success with Chiraiya underlines the point. But the Kolkata-based powerhouse now has its sights firmly set beyond Bengal, most visibly through Legacy, a rap reality series produced in collaboration with hip-hop label Kalamkaar that signals a deliberate push into the pan-India music ecosystem.
Dhillon brings precisely the kind of muscle SVF needs for that expansion. At Sony Pictures Networks India, she led film acquisition and commercials and handled music licensing across the entire satellite network. Before that, she spent nearly 15 years at Hungama, rising to assistant general manager and leading strategic content licensing for the platform’s digital entertainment business, with a particular focus on international markets. Her label relationships span the full roster: Sony Music, Universal Music, Warner Music, Believe International, Tunecore, The Orchard and a clutch of smaller aggregators. She has negotiated and closed deals with Hollywood studios, Bollywood production houses and regional content players alike, building pricing models and deal structures off data analysis rather than instinct.
Announcing the appointment, Dhillon said she was “thrilled to begin this journey with an iconic Bengali music label and content powerhouse,” adding that SVF’s “constant drive to push boundaries” was what drew her to the role.
SVF has spent three decades proving that regional does not mean limited. With a sharp commercial operator now steering its music distribution, its bid to go national just got a good deal more serious.
