Paramount sparks takeover battle for Warner Bros with £81.3 billion bid

Paramount has made a hostile bid for the company, while the US president has warned against Netflix controlling such a big share of the market. Robert Moore reports

Paramount has launched a hostile bid for Warner Bros in an attempt to derail the firm’s agreed takeover deal with Netflix.

Paramount Skydance (PSKY) sent an all-cash offer to Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) shareholders for $108.4 billion (£81.3bn) on Monday in a last-ditch effort to acquire the Hollywood behemoth.

It comes after US streaming giant Netflix said on Friday it had agreed to buy WBD – the film and streaming businesses of Warner Bros – for $72 billion (£54bn) following a weeks-long bidding war, which included previous bids from Paramount.

In a statement, Paramount said it was making a “strategically and financially compelling offer to WBD shareholders” and a “superior alternative to the Netflix transaction”.

David Ellison, chairman and chief executive of Paramount, said investors in Warner Bros “deserve an opportunity” to consider the firm’s offer.

“We are taking our offer directly to shareholders to give them the opportunity to act in their own best interests and maximize the value of their shares.”

Paramount said it made six proposals to Warner Bros over 12 weeks, but claimed that Warner Bros “never engaged meaningfully”.

The announcement of Netflix’s acquisition of the WBD, which owns Harry Potter and the streaming service HBO Max, was met with some concern.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday the Netflix takeover of Warner Bros “could be a problem” because of its combined market share.

Trump confirmed he would be involved in the decision about whether the US federal government should approve the takeover.

He said the deal has to “go through a process and we’ll see what happens”.

US unions have also called for the Netflix and Warner Bros merger to be blocked, claiming it would eliminate jobs, push down wages, and worsen conditions for entertainment workers.