Paramount makes $108 billion offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, challenging Netflix

Paramount has issued a $30-per-share all-cash tender offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), saying its proposal provides greater value and more certainty than the previously announced Netflix deal, according to the company. Paramount said it intends to take the offer directly to WBD shareholders.

The offer was announced on Monday and values WBD at an enterprise value of about $108 billion. Paramount said the proposal includes the company’s Global Networks division and is backed by equity commitments from the Ellison family and RedBird Capital, along with $54 billion in fully committed debt financing from Bank of America, Citi and Apollo.

The company said its bid provides approximately $18 billion more in cash to WBD shareholders than the consideration included in the Netflix agreement.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the competing offer was anticipated. Speaking at a financial conference in New York, he said Netflix remains “super confident” that its previously approved transaction with WBD will proceed.

Paramount said its all-cash structure avoids what it described as a lengthy and uncertain regulatory process tied to the Netflix proposal, which includes both cash and stock. The company said it is “highly confident” in securing approvals for its own offer and argued that its proposal would not leave WBD shareholders with a separate, heavily leveraged networks business.

The competing bids follow comments from President Donald Trump on Sunday, when he noted potential concerns about Netflix’s market share in a future merger review. Trump said he would be involved in evaluating the transaction and described the company’s size as a possible issue.