Warner Bros Discovery said on Tuesday it was considering a sweetened bid from Paramount Skydance without disclosing the value of the deal, as the CBS owner races with Netflix in a heated Hollywood takeover battle.
The latest offer followed a week of talks between Warner Bros and Paramount to address concerns that prompted the HBO parent to reject previous Paramount bids in favor of Netflix’s $27.75 per share, or $82.7 billion, deal for its studio and streaming assets.
“The Netflix merger agreement remains in effect and the Board continues to recommend in favor of the Netflix transaction. WBD shareholders are advised not to take any action at this time with respect to the amended PSKY tender offer,” Warner Bros said in a statement.
If Warner Bros decides the new Paramount bid is superior to the Netflix deal, the streaming pioneer will have four days to respond, according to the agreement announced in December last year.
Either deal will reshape the power structure of Hollywood by handing the suitor one the industry’s most coveted studios and an extensive content library, as well as major franchises such as “Game of Thrones”, “Harry Potter” and DC Comics.
Netflix has ample cash and could bump up its offer for HBO Max owner. The company has argued its deal offers better value to investors in part due to a spin off of the Warner Bros cable assets before the acquisition.
Paramount, which has offered to buy the whole of Warner Bros including the TV assets, believes that the cable assets are almost worthless. Its previous offer consisted of $30 per share in cash, or $108.4 billion including debt.
The CBS owner, led by CEO David Ellison, believes it has a clearer path to U.S. regulatory approval for a Warner Bros deal because of its close ties to the Trump administration.
To reassure investors, it has offered to cover the $2.8 billion fee Warner Bros would owe Netflix if that deal is scrapped and to pay roughly $650 million more in cash for each quarter the deal fails to close after this year.
ACTIVIST PRESSURE
Warner Bros’ renewed talks with Paramount follow pressure from Ancora Capital after the activist investor built a roughly $200 million stake in the HBO owner and accused the company of failing to adequately engage with Paramount.
The investor criticized the Warner Bros board for agreeing to an inferior deal and gambling on an uncertain spinoff. It plans to vote against the Netflix deal if Warner Bros refused to re-enter discussions with Paramount.
MoffettNathanson analysts have said an offer in the range of $34 per share from Paramount would end the bidding war and “avoid further debate over Discovery Global’s value”.
Discovery Global could fetch between $1.33 per share and $6.86 a share, according to Warner Bros estimates.
Warner Bros shareholders said earlier this month it would hold a shareholder vote on the Netflix deal on March 20.
(REUTERS)
