October 1, 2026
NEW YORK (AP) — Paramount on Monday launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, initiating a potentially bruising battle with Netflix for the company behind HBO, CNN, and DC Studios, and the right to reshape much of the nation's entertainment landscape.
Emerging just days after Netflix reached a $72 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros., the takeover attempt means Paramount will go straight to Warner shareholders with a bid worth about $74.4 billion, or $30 per share in cash.
Unlike Netflix, Paramount is also offering to buy the cable television assets of Warner Bros. Paramount executives said their offer is worth about $18 billion more than the competing bid from Netflix, which they said is based on an “illusory prospective valuation" of those cable assets.
It is the same bid that Warner Bros. had earlier rejected in favor of the offer from Netflix.
Paramount criticized the Netflix offer, saying it exposes shareholders "to a protracted multi-jurisdictional regulatory clearance process with an uncertain outcome along with a complex and volatile mix of equity and cash.”
Paramount said it had submitted six proposals to Warner Bros. over a 12-week period.
“We believe our offer will create a stronger Hollywood. It is in the best interests of the creative community, consumers, and the movie theater industry," Paramount Chairman and CEO David Ellison said in a statement. "We believe they will benefit from the enhanced competition, higher content spend and theatrical release output, and a greater number of movies in theaters as a result of our proposed transaction.”
On Friday, Netflix struck a deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, the Hollywood giant behind “Harry Potter” and HBO Max. The cash and stock deal is valued at $27.75 per Warner share, giving it a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, including debt.
The transaction is expected to close in the next 12 to 18 months, after Warner completes the previously announced separation of its cable operations. Not included in the deal are networks such as CNN and Discovery.
Paramount's tender offer is set to expire on Jan. 8, 2026, unless it's extended.
Shares of Warner Bros. and Paramount jumped between 5% and 6% at the opening bell on Monday. Shares of Netflix edged lower.
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