Paramount Skydance to extend Warner Bros takeover bid offer

Paramount Extends Deadline for Hostile Tender Offer to Warner Bros Discovery

Paramount Skydance has extended the deadline for its hostile tender offer for Warner Bros Discovery by a month, giving investors until February 20 to consider the $77.9 billion bid. The offer includes purchasing Warner shares for $30 apiece in cash and has an enterprise value of over $108 billion, including debt.

This is the second time Paramount has pushed out the deadline since challenging Warner’s merger agreement with Netflix last month. Earlier this month, Warner’s board rejected an amended Paramount bid that included $40 billion in equity personally guaranteed by Larry Ellison, Oracle’s co-founder and father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.

As of late Wednesday, more than 168.5 million Warner shares had been tendered in support of Paramount’s offer, which remains below the 50 percent threshold needed to gain control of the company. Warner Bros Discovery has approximately 2.48 billion shares outstanding in its Series A common stock.

In an emailed statement, Warner said that it continues to reject Paramount’s offer in favor of a merger agreement with Netflix, citing “clear” support from shareholders who have rejected Paramount’s scheme by over 93 percent. Netflix agreed to buy Warner’s studio and streaming business for $72 billion, with the enterprise value including debt being about $83 billion.

Paramount argues that its offer is better and has accused Warner’s leadership of a lack of transparency with shareholders. The company claims that Warner’s board is “rushing” to solicit shareholder approval for the Netflix merger, warning that debt from a previously announced spinoff could reduce the eventual payout to shareholders.

The battle for Warner Bros Discovery involves two competing bids: one from Paramount and another from Netflix. A successful deal would reshape Hollywood by handing control of franchises such as Friends and Batman, along with the HBO Max streaming service, to a single buyer. The outcome is expected to be lengthy and face intense antitrust scrutiny.

Source: Al Jazeera