Yup, you read the headline correctly. Netflix is no longer set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, which the streaming platform thought it had secured back in December for roughly $83 billion. Paramount Skydance is now set to win ownership of the legacy Hollywood company.
After multiple attempts before and after the Netflix announcement, WB’s board of directors agreed on Paramount’s current bid of $111 billion. Netflix actually had a few business days to counter the offer, but the company decided to walk away instead of spending any more money in an attempt to win over WB.
Paramount’s deal for WB includes its gaming and entertainment divisions; its TV networks, such as CNN, TBS, TNT, Discovery, and HGTV; HBO; HBO Max; DC Comics; Harry Potter; Game of Thrones; and more are set to join Paramount’s library of content. The Netflix deal focused on WB’s IP and streaming services but didn’t include the TV networks.
The company is led by David Ellison, son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who is the sixth richest man, worth around $200 billion. And yes, his dad is funding a portion of Paramount’s winning bid and is also covering the $2.8 billion breakup fee to Netflix.
While this may be the win Paramount has been looking for, Warner Bros Discovery still has to accept the offer and is subject to the atypical regulatory approvals before anything is actually official. Then there’s the matter of the debt, which Paramount will have to deal with before any attempt to turn a profit. No amount of raising subscription pricing can cover the cost that high. So Paramount Skydance still has a long road ahead of it despite its victory.
