Netflix is offering to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery in an all-cash deal, as the bidding war with rival Paramount Skydance heats up.
The updated offer, announced Tuesday in a joint statement by Netflix and WBD, follows a deal announced in early December 2025, when the streaming giant said it would acquire the parent company of Warner Bros. studios and HBO in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $27.75 per share, totaling about $82.6 billion, including debt.
The certainty of the acquisition — which, according to Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, would create a new media empire that would “define the next century of storytelling” — was put into question just a few days later, after Paramount Skydance launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. The the David Ellison-led media conglomerate offered approximately $108 billion in an all-cash deal, valuing WBD at $30 per share.
On Tuesday, Netflix and WBD announced that the companies had “amended their definitive agreement for Netflix’s pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery to an all-cash transaction.”
Under the sweetened deal, the transaction remains valued at $27.75 per WBD share, unchanged from the prior structure, and will be financed through a combination of cash on hand, available credit facilities and committed financing, the companies said.
WBD stockholders will also receive additional value in the form of shares of Discovery Global following its separation from the company.
WBD had previously said it plans to split Warner Bros. and Discovery Global into two publicly traded companies within six to nine months, ahead of the proposed Netflix deal, which is expected to close 12 to 18 months after the merger agreement is signed.
“Our revised all-cash agreement will enable an expedited timeline to a stockholder vote and provide greater financial certainty at $27.75 per share in cash, plus the value from the planned separation of Discovery Global,” Sarandos said in a statement. “Together, Netflix and Warner Bros. will deliver broader choice and greater value to audiences worldwide, enhancing access to world-class television and film both at home and in theaters.”
The amended deal, which was unanimously approved by both companies’ boards, provides WBD stockholders “with an accelerated process and the financial certainty of cash consideration, while maintaining our commitment to a healthy balance sheet and our solid investment grade ratings,” said Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters.
Earlier this year, Paramount filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery seeking to compel WBD to share financial information about its deal with Netflix. Last week, Judge Morgan Zurn ruled that Paramount failed to show it would suffer “irreparable harm” if the details were not made public.
With News Wire Services
