On Monday, Paramount, the global media and entertainment conglomerate, launched a $108.4 billion hostile bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) through an all-cash deal, competing directly with Netflix’s $72 billion offer. Paramount proposed paying $30 per share in cash for all outstanding WBD shares, including its Global Networks segment, giving the transaction an enterprise value of $108.4 billion. This represents a 139% premium over WBD’s stock price of $12.54 as of September 10, 2025.
Unlike Netflix’s offer, which mixes cash and stock and excludes some segments, Paramount’s bid covers the entire company, ensuring WBD shareholders are not left with a smaller, highly leveraged portion. Paramount emphasized that its proposal avoids reliance on uncertain stock performance and complicated regulatory approvals.
The deal will be financed without any financing conditions, supported by principal equity holders and $54 billion in debt commitments from Bank of America, Citi, and Apollo. Paramount CEO David Ellison stated that the company is taking the offer directly to shareholders to allow them to maximize value, arguing that WBD’s current board-backed Netflix deal is less favorable for investors.
