Paramount Launches Hostile Bid to Take Over Warner Bros. Discovery

Paramount has launched a hostile takeover attempt for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), going straight to shareholders after months of negotiations failed and ended with Netflix emerging as the leading bidder.

The company said Monday it is pursuing an all-cash offer of $30 per share to buy all outstanding WBD stock, equating to an enterprise value of $108.4 billion with an equity value of $77.9 billion—the same proposal WBD rejected last week. The offer is financed through equity backing from the Ellison family and private-equity firm RedBird Capital, along with $54 billion in debt commitments from Bank of America, Citi, and Apollo Global Management, according to a Paramount news release.

Part of the equity backing comes from Middle Eastern investors, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Company PJSC, and the Qatar Investment Authority. Another share of the funding comes from Affinity Partners, a firm formed by President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

“Our public offer, which is on the same terms we provided to the Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors in private, provides superior value, and a more certain and quicker path to completion,” David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount, said in a statement. “We believe the WBD Board of Directors is pursuing an inferior proposal which exposes shareholders to a mix of cash and stock, an uncertain future trading value of the Global Networks linear cable business and a challenging regulatory approval process. We are taking our offer directly to shareholders to give them the opportunity to act in their own best interests and maximize the value of their shares.”

Paramount began pursuing WBD in September and submitted three bids before the media giant opened a formal sale process that attracted additional bidders.

The takeover attempt comes just three days after Netflix reached its own agreement to acquire WBD’s studio and streaming operations. That deal, valued at $27.75 per WBD share in a mix of cash and stock, totals roughly $72 billion. Unlike Paramount, Netflix did not bid for the full company, leaving out WBD’s television networks, such as CNN.

During the bidding process, Paramount pushed back against how the sale was being handled. In a letter to WBD, the company’s legal team argued that the process was biased, claiming WBD “abandoned the semblance and reality of a fair transaction process” and suggesting that management was favoring Netflix’s offer over others.

Ellison framed the takeover attempt as a continuation of earlier efforts, telling CNBC, “We’re really here to finish what we started. We put the company in play.”

Netflix agreed to pay WBD $5.8 billion if the acquisition fails to receive approval, while WBD would owe $2.8 billion if it backs out to pursue another buyer.

“Today’s move was entirely expected,” Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on Monday at the UBS Global Media and Communications conference. “We have a deal done, and we are incredibly happy with the deal. We think it’s great for our shareholders. It’s great for consumers. We think it’s a great way to create and protect jobs in the entertainment industry. We’re super confident we’re going to get it across the line and finish.”

Featured image: Ethan Swope/Bloomberg via Getty Images

UPDATE (December 8, 2025 at 3 PM EST): This report has been updated to include a statement from Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos on Paramount’s takeover attempt.