Paramount opposes Netflix in battle for Warner Bros

The American media conglomerate Paramount addressed the shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) directly to buy their shares for cash at a higher price than the streaming service Netflix did, the corporation said in an official statement.

Paramount is willing to pay $30 per share, while Netflix planned to buy WBD at $27.75 per share. At the same time, Paramount believes that their proposal will force the WBD board of directors to abandon the deal with Netflix, which it had already approved.

“We're on Wall Street, where cash is still king. And we believe that when shareholders see our current proposal, they will vote for it,” said Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison.

In total, Paramount is ready to buy WBD for $108.4 billion, which, judging by the company's press release, will bring shareholders $18 billion more than Netflix's offer. Ellison also argues that the deal with Paramount will be approved by regulators more quickly, given its friendly relationship with the administration of US President Donald Trump.

In turn, Trump expressed concern about WBD’s deal with Netflix, because then the streaming service’s total share of the media market would reach 30%, and “and this could become a problem” from the point of view of antitrust law. If the purchase does take place, Netflix will receive the rights to the Harry Potter universe, The Lord of the Rings and all HBO series, including Game of Thrones.