Paramount Skydance amended its takeover bid on Monday Warner Bros. Discovery but at least one major WBD shareholder was unimpressed.
“Changes to Paramount's new offering were necessary but not sufficient” Harris OakmarkPortfolio Manager and US Research Director Alex Fitch, told Reuters after Paramount's new offer was unveiled.
Oakmark, identified by Reuters as Warner Bros' fifth-largest shareholder with 96 million shares, or about 4% of the stake, as of the end of September, indicated that Paramount, led by David Ellison and backed by Larry Ellison, would have to take another step forward to have a chance of snatching WBD from successful bidder Netflix.
“We view these two deals as a toss-up and there is a price to pay for changing paths,” he said. “If Paramount is serious about winning, they'll have to provide more incentive.”
Warner Bros. Discovery on Monday advised its shareholders to “take no action at this time with respect to Paramount Skydance's amended tender offer,” which now includes $40.4 Billion Personal Wealth Funding Guarantee from Larry Ellison (co-founder of Oracle and father of Paramount CEO David Ellison); increased breakup fee of $5.8 billion; and increasing financial flexibility during the transition period.
The basic financial terms of Paramount's new offer remain the same as those in the offer recently rejected by WBD. hostile tender offer done December 8: purchasing all UBIoutstanding shares at $30 each in cash.
