Entertainment giant Netflix announced Thursday that it is withdrawing from the battle to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) following a new bid this week from rival Paramount Skydance (PSKY).
Netflix “has declined to increase its offer for Warner Bros.” after receiving a WBD notice “indicating that its board of directors has determined that PSKY’s latest proposal constitutes a ‘superior proposal’ under the terms of the existing merger agreement” between the two companies, the company co-led by Ted Sarandos said in a statement.
Although the transaction negotiated last December between Netflix and WBD “had generated value for shareholders, with a clear path to regulatory approval,” the price required to match PSKY’s latest offer “is no longer financially attractive,” the entertainment giant added.
“That is why we decline to match Paramount Skydance’s offer,” the brief stated.
The entertainment giant’s great rival in the battle to take over Paramount this week presented a new offer valued at $31 per share, in an attempt to compete with the sale agreement that the legendary studio has with Netflix.
Netflix abandons bid to buy Warner Bros Discovery
PSKY’s revised offer includes payment of $31 per share in cash, up from $30 previously raised, as well as an additional payment of $0.25 per share per quarter beginning September 30, 2026 if the deal has not closed by then.
It also agrees to pay the $2.8 billion that WBD would have to pay Netflix for breaking its agreement, and would provide additional capital if necessary to meet lending bank solvency requirements.
WBD publicly considered this Thursday that this new offer was “superior” to the one presented last December by Netflix, opening a window of four business days for the latter to respond with a new counteroffer.
Paramount’s new offer was in response to one made by Netflix last December as part of a preliminary agreement to acquire WBD’s studios and streaming business for $27.75 per share, valuing those assets at about $72 billion, with a total enterprise value of about $82.7 billion.
The withdrawal of this multi-million dollar deal for the purchase of one of the entertainment titans comes on the same day that Sarandos visits the White House for various meetings, although he is not expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, reported Agencia EFE.
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