Just three days after Warner Bros. Discovery agreed to sell its storied movie and TV studio to Netflix, the script has flipped.
On Monday, Paramount Skydance launched a hostile all-cash takeover bid for all of Warner Bros. Discovery, offering shareholders $30 per share in cash and valuing the company at $108.4 billion, according to a company statement.
The move is designed to derail Netflix’s previously announced cash-and-stock agreement to buy Warner Bros.’ studios and streaming assets in a deal valued at $82.7 billion
What Paramount is offering — and why it’s ‘hostile’
Instead of negotiating with Warner Bros. Discovery’s board, Paramount said it is going directly to shareholders with an all-cash tender offer for every share of the company, including its Global Networks business — CNN, TNT, Discovery, HGTV and other cable channels that would have been carved out under the Netflix plan.
Paramount’s offer:
- $30 per share in cash for Warner Bros. Discovery
- Value of about $108.4 billion
- Bid covers the entire company, not just studios and streaming
In a press release, Paramount claimed its tender offer “superior value” and said it provides “a more certain and quicker path to completion” than the Netflix transaction, which is expected to face a lengthy U.S. and European antitrust review.
Because Warner’s board already endorsed the Netflix deal, Paramount’s path now runs through shareholders — and potentially the courts.
Two very different futures for Warner — and for CNN vs. ‘Harry Potter’
Friday’s agreement between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery created a split:
- Netflix world: Netflix would own Warner Bros. studios, HBO and HBO Max and giant franchises like “Harry Potter,” DC, “The Lord of the Rings” films and “Game of Thrones.”
- Discovery Global world: CNN, TBS, TNT, Discovery and other cable channels would live in a separate company that remains publicly traded.
Paramount’s hostile offer redraws that map. If its bid succeeds:
- The entire Warner Bros. Discovery empire — including CNN and TNT Sports — would end up under Paramount, creating a combined studio, cable and streaming giant that would compete with Disney and Netflix.
- Netflix would lose the deal and likely collect a multibillion-dollar breakup fee instead of Harry Potter and HBO.
Paramount’s pitch to Hollywood: more theaters, not fewer
An anonymous letter from prominent movie directors and producers warned that Netflix taking over Warner Bros. could “hold a noose around the theatrical marketplace,” fearful that more movies would be pushed quickly to streaming, per Variety.
Paramount is leaning hard into that concern.
During a Monday morning investor relations call, Paramount committed to release more than 30 films in theaters worldwide each year if it wins, positioning itself as a more theater-friendly steward of Warner Bros.’ franchises than Netflix.
Why the numbers — and the breakup fees — matter
Under the existing Netflix agreement:
- Netflix agreed to pay Warner Bros. Discovery a $5.8 billion breakup fee if regulators kill the deal or Netflix walks away.
- Warner Bros. would owe Netflix about $2.8 billion if shareholders reject the deal or the company accepts a superior offer instead.
That means if Warner’s board ultimately abandons Netflix for Paramount, shareholders would have to weigh Paramount’s higher cash offer against the cost of writing a multibillion-dollar check to Netflix.
Trump and regulators turn up the pressure
Even before Monday’s hostile bid, the Netflix–Warner deal was facing political headwinds.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump said the Netflix acquisition “could be a problem” during remarks that raised concerns about the combined company’s share of the streaming market, according to Reuters.
Paramount is arguing that its smaller size and all-cash structure make its offer more likely to pass through U.S. and European Union approvals.
Wall Street turns the merger into a trading game
Investors reacted quickly to Paramount’s surprise move.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s stock jumped into the high-$27 range on Monday — up roughly 5–7% on the day — trading like what TechStock2 described as “an option on competing takeover outcomes” rather than a bet on its standalone business.
Paramount Skydance shares also rose, per Barron’s, while Netflix’s stock fell nearly 5% as investors contemplated the prospect of a costly bidding war, a larger debt load and the risk that Netflix could pay a $5.8 billion breakup fee and still end up without Warner Bros.
Analysts are split. Some argue that whichever company wins will gain a powerhouse collection of franchises — from Hogwarts and Gotham City to Westeros and Barbie Land. Others warn that adding tens of billions of dollars in new debt in a slowing media market could weigh down whichever company emerges on top.