Core Viewpoint - Paramount Skydance's bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery has faced a setback as WBD's board recommended shareholders reject Paramount's tender offer in favor of a sale to Netflix [1][2]. Group 1: WBD's Decision - WBD's board cited that Paramount's offer was less sound than Netflix's, particularly noting the lack of an equity backstop from the Ellison family for the $108 billion offer [2]. - WBD emphasized that Paramount's offer was non-binding, allowing Paramount to withdraw at any time, which raised concerns about its reliability [2][3]. - WBD dismissed Paramount's claims of lower regulatory risk, stating there was "no material difference in regulatory risk" between the two offers [3]. Group 2: Paramount's Response - In response to WBD's recommendation, Paramount urged shareholders to tender their shares at the offered price of $30 per share, asserting that its offer was fully financed and had a clearer path to completion [4]. - Despite WBD's stock trading below the $30 threshold, between $28 and $29, indicating potential shareholder interest in selling to Paramount, WBD's stock fell nearly 2% following the announcement [5]. Group 3: Future Implications - The merger between WBD and Netflix is not finalized, as WBD shareholders have until January 8 to tender their shares to Paramount, which could potentially block the Netflix deal if Paramount gains a majority [8].

So what is the thesis of one about this discovery is why the $30 Paramount is not living up to what's been offered elsewhere. So what Warner Brothers is saying is they reviewed the Paramount $30 a share offer. It's the same offer that Paramount had offered them two weeks ago when the board already deliberated and decided to go with Netflix.And in some ways, they're saying this offer, the tender offer, is worse than what was initially offered. The logic is they don't view it as certain as the deal they alrea ...

According to a Wednesday report by Bloomberg, Comcast (CMCSA) had valued its media and theme park assets at $81B when the cable giant made its offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The report, citing a Warner Bros. filing, said the document talks ...

Group 1 - Warner Bros. Discovery has received multiple bids for its business, including offers from Netflix, Paramount, and an unnamed fourth bidder [1][2] - The unnamed bidder, referred to as "Company A," proposed to acquire only Warner Bros. Discovery's film and streaming assets, which aligns with a bid from Comcast [1] - "Company C" has made a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery's Global Networks business, which includes CNN, TNT, and TBS, along with 20% of its film and streaming assets [2] Group 2 - Warner Bros. Discovery has deemed the proposal from "Company C" as "not actionable" and plans to proceed with preliminary offers from Netflix, Paramount, and "Company A" by late November [2] - CEO David Zaslav indicated that Amazon and Apple have shown interest in acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, although they do not fit the "American media company" description [3] - Other companies have previously submitted bids for Paramount, including a joint bid of approximately $26 billion from Apollo Global Management and Sony, and a $30 billion bid from Allen Media Group [3]

Key Takeaways The biggest entertainment deal in history promises more drama. The latest: Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) on Wednesday published a letter criticizing Paramount Skydance's (PSKY) offer to acquire the company, saying its all-cash bid—which followed an agreement by Warner Bros. to merge with Netflix (NFLX)—came with "an untenable degree of risk" and urging shareholders to reject Paramount's "illusory" all-cash deal. The response from Warner to Paramount's hostile takeover offer last week was to be ...

Bring in show music, please. >> This is Squawk Pod and I'm CNBC producer Cameron Costa. On today's episode, will they won't they? >> This could take a while. >> Warner Brothers Discovery tells shareholders that Netflix's deal is better than Paramount's hostile bid. It's drama fit for a prestige streaming series. Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters sat down with CNBC's David Faber only on Squawkbox. He says they are the ones to win. >> Our deal structure is clean. It's certain. We're a scaled company with, you know, ...

Well, I would say I don't want to speculate on what's going to happen from here. Um, we are pretty happy that we've presented uh a pretty strong deal and I think the Warner Brothers Discovery Board sent a pretty clear message that they believe that this is the best value. It's the most certain path forward.Our deal structure is clean. It's certain. We're a scaled company with, you know, over 400 billion market cap.We've got strong investment grade balance sheet. This deal offers flexibility for Warner Broth ...

Group 1 - Warner Bros. Discovery's board unanimously rejected a $108.4 billion hostile takeover bid from Paramount Skydance due to lack of financing assurances, reinforcing Netflix's $72 billion buyout offer as the stronger option [1] - Warner Bros. Discovery's stock is currently down 0.4% to $28.79, marking its third consecutive daily loss, but still shows a 169% year-to-date increase from a three-year high of $30 [2] - The Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) for Warner Bros. Discovery is at 27%, indicating higher volatility compared to 94% of readings from the past year [2] Group 2 - A total of 78,000 puts have been exchanged for Warner Bros. Discovery, which is double the average intraday amount, with the January 2026 26-strike put being the most active contract [3] - Paramount Skydance's stock is down 4.8% to $13.18, continuing a trend of lower highs since its two-year high of $20.86 on September 23 [3] - Netflix's stock is up 1.2% to $13.18, with a year-to-date increase of 7.3% [3]

Core Viewpoint - Warner Bros. believes that Netflix's $72 billion buyout offer is superior and urges shareholders to reject the hostile takeover bid from Paramount Skydance [1] Group 1: Offers and Valuations - Paramount's offer is $30 per Warner share, valuing the company at approximately $77.9 billion, compared to Netflix's offer of $27.75 per share [1][5] - Paramount claims its offer is worth about $79.9 billion, which is $18 billion more in cash than Netflix's bid [6] - Netflix's offer includes a combination of cash and stock, valuing Warner at $72 billion, excluding debt, but does not include Warner-owned networks like CNN and Discovery [7] Group 2: Industry Impact - A merger involving Warner Bros. would significantly alter the Hollywood landscape and is expected to face intense scrutiny from U.S. regulators [2] - The competing offers highlight the potential for combining major entertainment properties, with Netflix owning popular titles like "Stranger Things" and "Squid Game," while Paramount owns CBS and MTV [3] - The outcome of these bids will influence the dynamics of the streaming wars and the broader entertainment industry [4]

Group 1: Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount Skydance Bid - Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD) advised shareholders to reject the Paramount Skydance (PSKY) offer and favor the bid from Netflix (NFLX) [2] - Netflix's bid includes a spin-off of the Discovery Channel, which has an unnamed interested party, while PSKY's bid includes the cable channel in its acquisition [3] - PSKY's CEO David Ellison did not provide guaranteed funding for the deal, raising concerns about the financial backing of the bid [3][4] Group 2: Federal Reserve Chair Interviews - The White House is actively interviewing candidates to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell, with former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh gaining traction as a candidate [5][6] - Warsh was known for dissenting on Fed policy during his tenure and has expressed a desire for the Fed to take a less active role in managing the economy [7] Group 3: Earnings Reports - General Mills (GIS) reported fiscal Q2 earnings of $1.10 per share, exceeding the Zacks consensus estimate of $1.02, with revenues of $4.86 billion, surpassing projections by 1.89% [9] - ABM Industries (ABM) reported fiscal Q4 earnings of $0.88 per share, missing the expected $1.10, but revenues of $2.18 billion exceeded expectations by 1.19% [10] - Micron (MU) is set to report fiscal Q1 earnings, with expectations of a 118% year-over-year growth in earnings and a 46% increase in revenues [11]