Warner Bros rejects Paramount takeover again
Warner Bros. once again rejected Paramount’s takeover offer and told shareholders to stick with Netflix’s rival bid.
Warner’s leadership has repeatedly turned down offers from Skydance-owned Paramount and a few weeks ago called on shareholders to support the sale of its streaming and studio businesses to Netflix for $US72 billion ($106 billion).
Paramount, meanwhile, has made efforts to soften its $77.9 billion hostile bid for the entire company.
Warner Bros. Discovery said in a statement on Wednesday that its board of directors decided Paramount’s offer was not in the best interest of the company or its shareholders.
Shareholders were once again advised to support the Netflix deal.
Warner Bros. “Paramount’s offer continues to provide inadequate value, including terms such as an extraordinary amount of debt financing that creates a risk of closure and a lack of protection for our shareholders in the event a transaction is not completed,” Discovery chairman Samuel Di Piazza Jr. said in a statement.
In contrast, the company’s deal with Netflix “will deliver superior value with a higher level of certainty,” he added.
Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company’s hostile offer is still on the table.
Warner shareholders currently have until January 21 to “tender” their shares.
Late last month, Paramount announced it had received an “irrevocable personal guarantee” from Oracle founder Larry Ellison, father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, that would back $40.4 billion in equity financing for the company’s offering.
Paramount also increased its promised payout to shareholders if the deal is blocked by regulators to $5.8 billion, to match Netflix’s breakup fee.
Australia’s Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national news channel and has been providing accurate, reliable and fast-paced news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We inform Australia.
