WBD Says Paramount Offer Is Now Superior To Netflix, Netflix Declines To Match
A new twist in the WBD sale.
It was announced on Friday, December 8, that Netflix would buy Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD) studio operations and HBO Max for $72 billion (with an enterprise value of $82.7 billion). Paramount was looking to derail the Netflix-Warner Bros Discovery deal, launching a $108 billion hostile takeover bid.
Paramount’s most recent offer came to be $31-per-share, which WBD declared to be superior. Netflix had four days to respond, and has decided to decline to match the offer.
From Netflix:
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Feb. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Netflix, Inc. today announced that it has declined to raise its offer for Warner Bros. Netflix had earlier received notice from Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that its Board of Directors has determined Paramount Skydance’s (PSKY) latest proposal constitutes a “Superior Proposal” under the terms of WBD’s existing merger agreement with Netflix. Netflix issued the following statement in response from co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters:
The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval. However, we’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.
Warner Bros. is a world-class organization, and we want to thank David Zaslav, Gunnar Wiedenfels, Bruce Campbell, Brad Singer and the WBD Board for running a fair and rigorous process. We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.’ iconic brands, and that our deal would have strengthened the entertainment industry and preserved and created more production jobs in the U.S. But this transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price.
Netflix’s business is healthy, strong and growing organically, powered by our slate and best-in-class streaming service. This year, we’ll invest approximately $20 billion in quality films and series and will expand our entertaining offering. Consistent with our capital allocation policy, we’ll also resume our share repurchase program.
We will continue to do what we’ve done for more than 20 years as a public company: delight our members, profitably grow our business, and drive long-term shareholder value.
This would signal that Paramount will acquire WBD, the broadcast partner of AEW.
