Is the war over? The war refers to the battle to acquire Warner Bros. (WB) between Netflix, the world's leading streaming service, and Paramount Skydance, a major media producer owned by the Ellison family. Both companies competed to purchase Warner Bros. to become a global media giant. According to Bloomberg, the stances of all three companies have started to cool, with Netflix emerging as the likely winner to acquire WB despite Paramount's determined efforts to buy the entire company.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's studio and streaming operations in an all-cash deal at $27.75 per share (up from its original offer of $23.25 per share in cash plus $4.50 per share in Netflix common stock). Paramount's competing bid pressured Netflix to switch to an all-cash offer.
WB shareholders will vote again in April, and if they agree, Netflix will win this acquisition battle.
Although signs strongly favor WB choosing Netflix, Paramount remains determined to continue fighting. Paramount has the advantage of greater financial resources and is ready to offer a higher value to attract WB shareholders. While no higher offer has yet been submitted, Paramount has confirmed this is not the end of their bid.
Paramount has proposed acquiring all of Warner Bros. Discovery and paying entirely in cash, valuing the enterprise at approximately $108.4 billion.
Owning WB would greatly enhance a media company's stature, leading both contenders to invest heavily to secure the acquisition. However, many view Paramount's pursuit as somewhat unreasonable since its company value is about $13 billion, yet it aims to buy an entity valued over $71 billion.
Paramount's strength lies in being a $13 billion company backed by Larry Ellison, one of the world's wealthiest billionaires, who is fully supporting the effort.
Previously, Paramount filed documents requesting WB to explain the basis of the sale valuation and why WB would sell to Netflix rather than Paramount. Even after WB provided explanations, Paramount has persisted in seeking further details.
Additionally, Paramount hopes the deal might be blocked by Delaware regulators. The company also emphasizes its close ties to the Trump administration and has filed complaints in Europe alleging the Netflix-WB deal is unfair. If the deal proceeds, Netflix may need to separate operations from HBO in certain countries.
/ David Ellison, CEO of Paramount, clearly stated that there are currently no further plans regarding whether to purchase WB or not.
Recently, Netflix reported its Q4 2025 earnings, showing better-than-expected year-end revenue but forecasting lower profits in 2026 due to increased expenses related to completing the WB acquisition.
This caused Netflix shares to immediately drop to their lowest level since November 2024.
Analysts are divided: some see this as Netflix’s advantage to invest heavily in expanding its empire and advancing technology to outpace competitors, while others view Netflix as currently struggling with profitability and see acquiring WB as a solution.
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