Paramount Scoops Warner Bros Deal From Netflix

Netflix is walking away from the Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) bidding war after Paramount Discovery increased its offer to $31 per share in cash. 

The latest offer also included a daily ticking fee of $0.25 per share per quarter for WBD shareholders, starting after Sept. 30, 2026. Paramount also agreed to cover the $2.8 billion termination fee that WBD is required to pay Netflix to terminate the existing deal. 

That’s not all. Paramount would also assume the approximately $33 billion in debt WBD holds. Additionally, Paramount agreed to pay the $7 billion regulatory termination fee if the transaction does not close for regulatory reasons.

The deal ends months-long drama that started in October 2025, when WBD announced it was exploring a potential deal after receiving unsolicited offers. Then in December Netflix offered to buy WBD for $72 billion in equity value, after which Paramount promptly countered with a $108.4 billion hostile bid. 

However, in January WBD turned down Paramount’s offer, which led the Paramount to file a lawsuit, claiming it had the better offer. A week later, Netflix revised its bid to be an all-cash deal, and in February Paramount increased its offer to $30 per share all-cash. 

Paramount’s final revised offer in February of $110.9 billion pushed the per-share value to $31. WBD announced on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, that Paramount’s latest offer “constitutes a ‘Company Superior Proposal’ as defined in WBD’s merger agreement with Netflix, Inc.” Netflix had four days to revise its offer; instead, Netflix bowed out of the bidding war.

That same day, Netflix released a press release with a statement from co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters: 

“[W]e’ve always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid…this transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price.”

The financial attractiveness likely extended beyond the deal itself, as Bloomberg reported that the offer itself had negatively impacted Netflix stock, with share price declining 30% — following the Paramount-WBD deal news, Netflix’s stock recovered over 10%. 

There was also significant political pressure from the White House, with Sarandos meeting with President Trump on that same Thursday, allegedly already prepared to back away from the deal. President Trump had previously warned Sarandos not to overpay for WBD, and in the meeting Sarandos reportedly told the President he was taking that advice. 

Some critics of the new Paramount-WBD merger claim it would also create an advantageous situation for President Trump. WBD owns the CNN broadcast news company, which the president has railed against for its critical reporting of him. 

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison is the son of Larry Ellison, one of President Trump’s biggest allies and donors. Critics worry CNN will experience a significant shift in culture, just as CBS did after the Paramount Skydance merger last year. 

Any deal still needs regulatory approval, and although the Paramount-WBD deal seems to carry the backing of President Trump, other lawmakers are warning of an “anti-monopoly nightmare” where consolidation of the streaming service industry — by Netflix or Paramount — will lead to a monopoly that will raise prices and hurt consumers. 

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