Netflix CEO rejects Paramount’s $108 billion offer for Warner Bros. amid Larry Ellison’s backing — Here’s why
According to the news on the news portal, Greg Peters, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of global media giant Netflix, announced that Paramount Skydance will be sold to Warner Bros. He rejected a $108 billion offer to acquire Discovery (WBD), noting that the offer was backed by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, who would provide $40.4 billion in equity financing. Financial Times (FT).
The Netflix CEO said that without Larry Ellison’s financial backing through independent financing, Paramount had no chance of attracting financing for the acquisition round.
Mint Previously, Larry Ellison was rumored to be interested in Paramount Skydance’s potential Warner Bros. He said he agreed to personally finance $40.4 billion in equity financing to support an all-cash bid for the Discovery acquisition. The Oracle co-founder is the father of David Ellison, who is also the CEO of Paramount.
“If Larry Ellison hadn’t independently financed this thing, there’s no chance Paramount could have pulled this off,” Peters told the news portal.
The executive also called Paramount’s offer “pretty crazy,” citing the rival’s mounting debts and the need to finance the $30-per-share offer.
“Paramount is already burdened with quite a lot of debt,” he added, calling the additional leverage needed to finance its $30-per-share offering “pretty crazy.”
Additionally, according to the news portal’s report, a “very small” number of Warner Bros. He claimed that his shareholder supported Paramount’s hostile takeover bid for the entire company.
Board of Directors rejected Paramount’s offer
Mint As previously reported on January 7, 2026, Warner Bros. Discovery’s board of directors rejected Paramount Skydance’s $108.4 billion acquisition offer, citing concerns about its acquisition plans, and also urged shareholders to reject the same offer.
In its application, the company stated that Paramount’s offer was “insufficient, especially given the insufficient value it would provide.” The board also claimed there was “uncertainty” about whether the company would be able to fulfill the offer, creating risks and costs for shareholders.
Warner Bros. Discovery chairman Samuel A. Di Piazza, Jr. “The Board unanimously determined that Paramount’s most recent offer was inferior to our merger agreement with Netflix in several key areas,” he told shareholders.
deal with Netflix
SEC filings on January 20, 2026 showed that Netflix changed the structure of the potential acquisition agreement to an all-cash arrangement in an effort to simplify the transaction structure.
The transaction was completed by Warner Bros. without changes to the previous transaction structure. Discovery shares remain valued at $27.75 per share. However, the only change is that a deal that was previously determined to be a combination of cash and equity has now become a cash-only deal.
In an interview with the news portal F.T.Netflix CEO Greg Peters said the company expects to win shareholder support, adding that Paramount’s offer “doesn’t pass the sniff test.”
While the world awaits the shareholders’ decision in April 2026, Netflix is undecided by Warner Bros. Discovery is trying to win over its shareholders. The CEO also said the revised proposal, released earlier this month, provides “more deal certainty,” partly financed by $55 billion in debt, while also providing a snapshot of a potential all-cash deal on Netflix’s strong balance sheet.
