(wrong letter replaced in heading)
LOS ANGELES (dpa-AFX) – In the bidding war for Hollywood veteran Warner Brothers (Warner Bros Discovery), rival Paramount (Paramount Skydance) is back in the race with a raised bid. The board of directors of the Warner Bros. Discovery group wants to take a closer look at Paramount’s revised offer to clarify whether it is superior to the already accepted Netflix proposal. According to its statement published on Tuesday after the US stock market closed, the Warner board of directors believes it is realistic to come to the conclusion that Paramount offers the better deal. In this case, according to the previous takeover agreement, Netflix would have four days to counterattack.
The improved Paramount proposal includes increasing the bid for all of what is now Warner Bros. Discovery from $30 to $31 per share in cash. Netflix, meanwhile, only wants to buy the studio and streaming business. In this variant, Warner’s TV channels – including CNN – should move into a separate company.
Paramount is also offering Warner an exceptionally high payment of $7 billion if the deal falls through due to concerns from regulators. In addition, the company had already promised to pay the $2.8 billion that Warner would transfer to Netflix if the previous deal was terminated
The news caused a limited stir on the stock market. While Warner lost one percent in after-hours trading, Paramount and Netflix each gained one percent.
It is still unclear whether the improved Paramount offer will lead to a new price round in the bidding war. Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos downplayed the prospect. The streaming giant has preferred to back down in the past and let others pay too much, he told the industry publication Variety last week.
Meanwhile, the Warner Board of Directors is sticking to its recommendation to shareholders to accept Netflix’s takeover offer for the time being. The vote on this was scheduled for March 20th.
Paramount didn’t let up
Warner and Netflix entered into a binding takeover agreement for the studio and streaming business at the beginning of December. A few days later, Paramount turned directly to shareholders and offered $108.4 billion for the entire Warner Bros. Discovery group, including TV channels such as CNN. Netflix is currently offering almost $83 billion for studios and streaming.
Paramount has been trying in recent weeks to overcome Warner’s previous objections and come to the negotiating table. This included the promise to cover the payment of $2.8 billion that Warner would have to transfer to Netflix if the already agreed takeover deal with the streaming group was dissolved.
Future of CNN
The bidding war also concerns the fate of the news channel CNN, which often reports critically on US President Donald Trump. Trump said in December that it was important to ensure that CNN would definitely change hands in a deal.
Paramount was acquired last year by the family of the tech billionaire known as a Trump supporter Larry Ellison bought. Since the Ellisons’ takeover, the newsroom at Paramount’s CBS has adopted a friendly tone toward the Trump administration. Trump critics in the USA fear that CNN could lose editorial independence under the Paramount umbrella./so/DP/he
By the way: Netflix and other US stocks can even be traded on finanzen.net ZERO until 11 p.m. (without order fees, plus spreads). Open a depot now for free and secure a new customer bonus!
Selected leveraged products on Netflix
With knock-outs, speculative investors can participate disproportionately in price movements. Simply select the lever you want and we will show you suitable open-end products on Netflix
The leverage must be between 2 and 20
Advertising