What Shareholders Get
Under the proposal, Warner Bros shareholders would also receive stock in the company’s remaining businesses, including CNN and other networks, which are expected to be spun off into a separate publicly traded company.
Paramount, backed by tech billionaire Larry Ellison and his family, has argued those assets are worth significantly less than Warner Bros believes. Paramount says that makes its own $30-per-share offer — valuing the entire company at about $108 billion (£80 billion) — the superior deal.
Rivalry Turns Litigious
Paramount has kept pressure on Warner Bros, recently filing a lawsuit seeking to force the release of financial details tied to the Netflix offer.
Warner Bros leadership, however, has remained aligned with Netflix, publicly questioning how Paramount plans to assemble the financing needed for its bid.
“Our amended agreement with Netflix is a testament to the board’s unrelenting focus on representing and advancing our stockholders’ interests,” said Samuel Di Piazza Jr., chair of the Warner Bros Discovery board.
He said the all-cash approach allows the company to deliver “even greater levels of certainty,” while still enabling shareholders to benefit from the spinoff of Warner Bros’ remaining brands.
