In a stunning escalation of Hollywood’s most closely watched takeover battle, Paramount Global on Monday went directly to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders with a hostile all-cash offer that values the company at $108 billion—an aggressive attempt to pry Warner Bros. out of the hands of Netflix, which announced its own blockbuster agreement just days earlier.
The bid—$30 per share, entirely in cash—marks one of the most brazen corporate gambits the entertainment industry has seen since Comcast’s attempted Disney takeover in 2004. And it sets the stage for a months-long, public fight among studios, Wall Street, global regulators, labor unions and the White House over who should control one of Hollywood’s most storied assets.
Paramount Goes Public: “A Superior Offer”
Paramount CEO David Ellison, backed by financing from the Ellison family, RedBird Capital, and a consortium of sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, said the company had “no choice” but to go public after Warner Bros. Discovery repeatedly rejected six private proposals.
“The Paramount offer for the entirety of WBD provides shareholders $18 billion more in cash than the Netflix consideration,” the company said, calling Netflix’s deal “inferior,” “complex,” and burdened with “uncertain regulatory outcomes.”
Unlike Netflix—which is buying only Warner Bros. studios and HBO/HBO Max while spinning off the company’s global cable networks division—Paramount’s offer includes the entire company, from Warner Bros. film and TV to CNN, Discovery, Food Network, TNT, HGTV and more.
The financing group also includes Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, according to a regulatory filing—an addition that one insider says “strengthens Paramount’s case with U.S. regulators” as both Ellison and Kushner maintain close ties to the Trump administration.
All foreign investment partners have agreed to take no board seats and no governance rights, a structure designed to minimize national-security scrutiny.
Netflix’s Deal Lands Like a Bomb—and Triggers a Counterstrike
On Friday, Netflix stunned Hollywood with an agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio assets in a deal valued at $82.7 billion. The plan would leave the company’s declining cable networks—CNN, TNT, Discovery and others—as a separate public company.
Netflix argued the acquisition was “pro-consumer, pro-innovation and pro-creator,” with co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters telling investors the move would “reshape the future of storytelling.”
But the announcement also triggered immediate alarm inside the theatrical community, among labor unions, and at the White House, where President Trump said that a Netflix–Warner Bros. combination “could be a problem” given the streamer’s “very big market share.”
Netflix, if the deal closes, would hold 43% of global SVOD subscribers, a level Paramount calls “anticompetitive” and “unworkable” across international regulators.
The streamer has secured $59 billion in financing to fund the transaction and expects closing to take 12–18 months—a timeline Paramount argues is “unrealistic” given the complexity and global jurisdiction issues.
If the Netflix deal falls apart due to regulatory failure, Warner Bros. Discovery would be owed a $5.8 billion breakup fee.
A Rare Hollywood Hostile Takeover
The Paramount bid marks the first hostile takeover attempt of a major U.S. studio in more than 20 years, and signals a complete breakdown in negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who just days ago defended the Netflix agreement as the most rational outcome “in an industry undergoing generational change.”
Paramount’s launch of its “StrongerHollywood” website and full public tender offer suggests a drawn-out PR battle ahead—one aimed not just at shareholders but at guilds, regulators, talent, exhibitors and Washington political stakeholders.
Ellison’s pitch to Hollywood is blunt:
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More competition, not consolidation.
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More theatrical releases, not fewer.
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More content spend, not a shrinking slate.
“We believe our offer will create a stronger Hollywood,” Ellison said. “It is in the best interests of the creative community, consumers and the movie theater industry.”
Unions, Exhibitors and Washington Weigh In
The industry response to Netflix’s bid has been sharply divided:
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Writers Guild of America: called for the Netflix acquisition to be blocked outright.
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Teamsters Motion Picture Division: warned it threatens jobs and bargaining power.
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Cinema United (U.S. theater owners): labeled the deal “an unprecedented threat.”
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UNIC (European theaters): said it “fails in every regard.”
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DGA: expressed “significant concerns.”
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SAG-AFTRA: took a measured stance, saying any buyer must ensure more production, not less.
President Trump has already spoken with both Sarandos and Ellison—a rare sign of how politically charged the decision may become.
Shareholders Hold the Power
At the heart of the drama is one simple reality:
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders—not its board—will decide the studio’s future.
Paramount’s offer requires shareholders to tender their stock directly, bypassing the board’s preference for Netflix.
Analysts say the fight likely comes down to:
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Cash vs. Cash-and-Stock
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Speed and certainty vs. regulatory risk
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A complete acquisition vs. a partial carve-out
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Perception of future value of linear networks
WBD stock, which closed at $26 after the Netflix announcement, jumped nearly 5% pre-market on news of Paramount’s bid.
What’s Next? A Hollywood Super-Battle
Three things are now certain:
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This will be the most public, combative M&A battle the modern entertainment industry has ever seen.
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Both Netflix and Paramount will wage a months-long campaign to win over Wall Street, Hollywood and Washington.
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The fate of Warner Bros.—a studio founded in 1923—hangs in the balance.
