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Warner Bros reportedly poised to reject Paramount's $108bn hostile takeover bid
The Guardian· 2025-12-17 11:36
Group 1 - Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) is expected to advise shareholders to reject Paramount's $108 billion hostile bid, allowing Netflix to proceed with its $82.7 billion acquisition of WBD [1][2] - Netflix's bid includes control of significant assets such as the Harry Potter and DC Comics franchises, as well as HBO, but does not cover WBD's cable channels, which will be spun off next year [2] - WBD's board is reportedly less confident in Paramount's all-cash offer due to its backing by the Ellison family trust, which is valued at nearly $250 billion in Oracle stock, compared to Netflix's cash and shares offer [3] Group 2 - Affinity Partners, led by Jared Kushner, has withdrawn support for Paramount's bid, which has led to accusations from Paramount that WBD's board is not engaging properly with its offer [4] - Netflix's acquisition is likely to face regulatory scrutiny due to its potential dominance in the North American streaming market, although Netflix argues that including major players like YouTube mitigates this concern [5] - Paramount's funding sources from sovereign wealth funds in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Abu Dhabi, which will contribute $24 billion (almost 60% of the $40.7 billion in equity), have raised questions regarding regulatory approval [6] Group 3 - Federal Communications Commission rules restrict foreign investors from owning more than 20% of broadcast or telecom licensees, but Paramount claims these rules do not apply to its offer as the wealth funds have agreed to forgo governance rights [7]