HOLLYWOOD — Netflix, Inc. announced that it has declined to raise its offer for Warner Bros. Netflix had earlier received notice from Warner Bros. Discovery that its Board of Directors has determined Paramount Skydance’s latest proposal constitutes a “Superior Proposal” under the terms of WBD’s existing merger agreement with Netflix.
In a statement, Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters the deal they were negotiating would have had great value to shareholders.
“The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval,” they said. “However, 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 Paramount Skydance bid.
“Warner Bros. is a world-class organization … We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.’ iconic brands, and that our deal would have strengthened the entertainment industry and preserved and created more production jobs in the U.S.,” they added. “But this transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price.”
The Warner Bros board still has to terminate the Netflix deal and adopt Paramount Skydance’s offer.
“Once our board votes to adopt the Paramount merger agreement, it will create tremendous value for our shareholders,” Warner CEO David Zaslav said in a statement, according to Reuters. “We are excited about the potential of a combined Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery and can’t wait to get started working together telling the stories that move the world.”
According to the Reuters report, Paramount “maintained its dogged pursuit” of Warner Bros. It brought Warner Bros back to the bargaining table last week, with the potential of an increased cash offer for the company.
Earlier in the day, Warner Bros said Paramount’s revised $31-a-share offer was superior to Netflix’s bid of $27.75 per share for Warner Bros’ streaming and studio assets, Reuters reported.
