By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS and MICHELLE CHAPMAN, Associated Press
NEW YORK — Warner Bros. again rejected a takeover bid from Paramount and told shareholders Wednesday to stick with a rival offer from Netflix.
Warner’s leadership has repeatedly rebuffed Skydance-owned Paramount’s overtures — and urged shareholders just weeks ago to back its the sale of its streaming and studio business to Netflix for $72 billion. Paramount, meanwhile, has made efforts to sweeten its $77.9 billion hostile offer for the entire company.
Related Articles
Netflix refinances part of $59 billion loan for Warner Bros. Warner Bros asks investors to reject takeover bid from Paramount Skydance Is a Netflix-Warner Bros. merger bad for the entertainment industry? ’47 Ronin’ director Carl Rinsch facing 90 years for scamming Netflix of $11 million Paramount goes hostile in bid for Warner Bros., challenging a $72 billion offer by NetflixWarner Bros. Discovery said Wednesday that its board determined Paramount’s offer is not in the best interests of the company or its shareholders. It again recommended shareholders support the Netflix deal.
“Paramount’s offer continues to provide insufficient value, including terms such as an extraordinary amount of debt financing that create risks to close and lack of protections for our shareholders if a transaction is not completed,” Warner Bros. Discovery Chair Samuel Di Piazza Jr. said in a statement. In contrast, he added, the company’s agreement with Netflix “will offer superior value at greater levels of certainty.”
Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company’s hostile bid is still on the table. Warner shareholders currently have until Jan. 21 to “tender” their shares.
Late last month, Paramount announced an “irrevocable personal guarantee” from Oracle founder Larry Ellison — who is the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison — to back $40.4 billion in equity financing for the company’s offer. Paramount also increased its promised payout to shareholders to $5.8 billion if the deal is blocked by regulators, matching Netflix’s breakup fee.
In its Wednesday letter to shareholders, Warner expressed concerns about a potential deal with Paramount. Warner said it essentially considers the offer a leveraged buyout, which includes a lot of debt, and also pointed to operating restrictions that it said were imposed by Paramount’s offer and could “hamper WBD’s ability to perform” throughout a transaction.
The battle for Warner and the value of each offer grows complicated because Netflix and Paramount want different things. Netflix’s proposed acquisition includes only Warner’s studio and streaming business, including its legacy TV and movie production arms and platforms like HBO Max. But Paramount wants the entire company — which, beyond studio and streaming, includes networks like CNN and Discovery.
If Netflix is successful, Warner’s news and cable operations would be spun off into their own company, under a previously-announced separation.
A merger with either company could take over a year to close — and will attract tremendous antitrust scrutiny along the way. Due to its size and potential impact, it will almost certainly trigger a review by the U.S. Justice Department, which could sue to block the transaction or request changes. Other countries and regulators overseas may also challenge the merger. Politics are also expected to come into play under President Donald Trump, who has made unprecedented suggestions about his personal involvement on whether a deal will go through.
Hence then, the article about warner bros rejects paramount takeover again and tells shareholders to stick with netflix bid was published today ( ) and is available on mercury news ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Warner Bros rejects Paramount takeover again and tells shareholders to stick with Netflix bid )
Also on site :
- Seizure of Russian-flagged oil tanker: what we know so far
- Fatal I-55 crash shuts down lanes in southwest suburbs; ‘major' traffic backups expected
- Nestlé pulls baby milk batches amid safety fears