The Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors has now officially rejected the offer made by Paramount Skydance. According to WBD, the board unanimously decided that Paramount’s offer is not in the best interests of the company or its shareholders.
Key Takeaways
- Warner Bros. Discovery’s board unanimously dismissed Paramount Skydance’s proposal, citing inadequate value and added risks.
- The board reiterated full support for its merger with Netflix, calling it a superior and more certain option for shareholders.
- Netflix emphasized the merger as pro-consumer and pro-growth, promising expanded creative opportunities, theatrical releases, and stronger Warner Bros. brand development.
Paramount made its offer early last week, and after confirmation that a deal between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery had been done.
As part of its proposal, Paramount publicly made the argument that it was offering a better deal overall. Not just for the company and its shareholders but for the wider industry as well.
According to Warner Bros. Discovery, that’s not how the board of directors viewed Paramount’s offer. Instead, WBD said Paramount’s offer reflected lesser value and imposed a number of risks and costs on the company.
“Following a careful evaluation of Paramount’s recently launched tender offer, the Board concluded that the offer’s value is inadequate, with significant risks and costs imposed on our shareholders,” said Samuel A. Di Piazza, Jr., Chair of the Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors. “This offer once again fails to address key concerns that we have consistently communicated to Paramount throughout our extensive engagement and review of their six previous proposals.”
The board not only rejected the proposal but also unanimously reiterated its support for Netflix, stating a deal with Netflix represents better value and more certainty for shareholders.
“We are confident that our merger with Netflix represents superior, more certain value for our shareholders and we look forward to delivering on the compelling benefits of our combination,” added Samuel A. Di Piazza, Jr.
Following Warner Bros. Discovery’s announcement confirming the rejected Paramount proposal, Netflix issued its own statement in support of the decision.
“The Warner Bros. Discovery Board reinforced that Netflix’s merger agreement is superior and that our acquisition is in the best interest of stockholders,” said Ted Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO. “This was a competitive process that delivered the best outcome for consumers, creators, stockholders and the broader entertainment industry. Netflix and Warner Bros. complement each other, and we’re excited to combine our strengths with their theatrical film division, world-class television studio, and the iconic HBO brand, which will continue to focus on prestige television. We’re also fully committed to releasing Warner Bros. films in theaters, with a traditional window, so audiences everywhere can enjoy them on the big screen.”
Netflix added that it has a long history of investing in creativity and is committed to helping grow the Warner Bros.’ brands in the future.
“By acquiring Warner Bros., we’ll be able to offer audiences and creators around the world even more choice, value and opportunity. This transaction is fundamentally pro-consumer, pro-innovation, pro-creator and pro-growth. Together we will deliver an even broader selection of great series and films that audiences can watch at home and in theaters, while driving long-term value for our stockholders. We’re excited to begin this new chapter and continue to entertain and delight fans around the world,” added Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters.
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