Battle for Warner Bros. not finished yet. After Netflix announced Friday it would buy most of Warner Bros.' entertainment assets, Paramount announced Monday it would offer billions more to buy all of Warner Bros. Discovery in a hostile takeover bid.
Specifically, Paramount is offering $30 per share, compared to Netflix's $27.75. That's $18 billion more than Netflix. In addition, Paramount wants to buy all of WBD, not just most of the key entertainment assets that Netflix is offering to buy.
Paramount's $30-per-share offer gives it a total enterprise value of $108.4 billion, which Paramount said represents a 139% premium to the price at which the company traded in September 2025. Netflix's offer was valued at $82.7 billion.
Paramount was considered the favorite to buy Warner Bros. for months before Netflix pounced on it with CEO Ted Sarandos. meeting personally with US President Donald Trump to try to woo him. On Sunday, December 7, Trump announced the Netflix proposal “there may be a problem” given the market share, such a deal could give Netflix.
Paramount is run by David Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle boss Larry Ellison, and the family also has a close relationship with Trump. Paramount's new deal to buy Warner Bros. offers WBD shareholders “superior value and a more reliable and faster path to completion,” Paramount said.
The equity capital to finance the proposed buyout is supported by the Ellison family itself, as well as RedBird Capital, Bank of America, Citi and Apollo. Previously, a key issue that came up in reports of Paramount's initial proposal was financial support, and Paramount now says everything has been cleared up.
Paramount said it would approach WBD shareholders directly through a hostile bid because the company believes shareholders were “not represented” [with the] most convincing and excellent deal.”
“[The] “The Netflix transaction provides WBD shareholders with low and uncertain value, a lengthy and uncertain regulatory approval process in multiple jurisdictions, a complex and volatile mix of capital and cash, and ownership of Global Networks as a standalone, over-leveraged company whose future trading value is uncertain,” Paramount said.
David Ellison said in a statement that WBD shareholders “deserve the opportunity to consider our compelling offer to purchase their shares in the entire company.”
He added: “We believe our proposal will make Hollywood stronger. This is in the best interests of the creative community, consumers and the film industry. We believe they will benefit from increased competition, higher content spending and theatrical releases, and more films in theaters as a result of our proposed transaction. We look forward to working to deliver this capability expeditiously so that all stakeholders can begin to benefit from the benefits of the combined company.”
Paramount's hostile bid for WBD expires on January 8, 2026, unless it is extended before then.
The deal could impact video games. WBD, along with its WB Games division, owns multiple game studios, and in the gallery below you can see all the franchises that the company's new owner could own if the deal goes through. Besides, Paramount is working on a Call of Duty movie with Activision.
