Netflix declines to raise bid for Warner Bros. as Paramount’s $81B offer deemed ‘superior’

WASHINGTON

Netflix said Thursday it will not raise its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) after the media company’s board determined that a revised bid from Paramount Skydance constitutes a “superior proposal.”

In a statement issued by co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, Netflix said it declined to match Paramount Skydance’s latest $31-per-share offer for the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery, valued at approximately $81 billion.

“We’ve always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match,” the executives said.

“This transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price,” they added.

Netflix had previously agreed in December to acquire Warner’s movie and television studios along with the HBO Max streaming platform for $27.75 per share, or about $72 billion.

Paramount Skydance later launched a competing bid for the entire company, including its cable television networks. Its revised proposal includes a $7 billion reverse termination fee if the deal fails to close due to regulatory concerns and covers the $2.8 billion breakup fee Warner would owe Netflix.

Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav said that once the board votes to adopt the Paramount merger agreement, it would create “tremendous value” for shareholders.

Pending regulatory approval, the deal would combine Paramount’s assets with Warner Bros., HBO and cable networks including CNN and TNT, marking a significant shift in the US entertainment landscape.

White House visit

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos visited the White House on Thursday for meetings related to the company’s bid process, according to CNBC.

A White House official told the network that Sarandos was not expected to meet with President Donald Trump but rather staff members.

“This meeting is not with POTUS,” the official said. “Netflix is meeting with staff members at the White House.”

The visit followed recent comments from Trump, who publicly called on Netflix to remove former national security adviser Susan Rice from its board of directors or “pay the consequences.”