A deal that looked settled a few days ago has turned into a messy auction with power plays, political interference and at least one heavyweight investor signaling he may flip the script.
On Monday Paramount Skydance — led by CEO David Ellison — went public with a $30-per-share, all-cash hostile offer for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), asking shareholders to decide where this goes next. That bid came after WBD had already announced an agreement with Netflix for the studio and streaming assets; Paramount’s offer, by contrast, targets the whole company, including TV networks such as CNN and TNT.
The bids, the players and an awkward phone call
Paramount’s $30 proposal mirrors the private offer it says it delivered days earlier. Ellison, speaking privately and later in public, suggested the board can’t simply accept his bid now without admitting it ignored a superior proposal — a nod to the legal tightrope directors face once they’ve publicly rebuffed an offer. “If they accept the offer exactly as it is today…then they're admitting breach of fiduciary duty,” Ellison was overheard saying, according to attendees at a UBS event.
Netflix’s deal — reported at roughly $27.75 per share for WBD’s studio and streaming businesses — appears to have convinced the company’s leadership that selling parts of the empire is the route they prefer. Paramount, backed by insiders including Jared Kushner (disclosed in regulatory filings), is trying to persuade shareholders the full-company cash bid is the superior path.
Adding fuel to the stove: well-known value investor Mario Gabelli — a longtime activist and holder of WBD shares — has signaled he’s “likely” to tender to Paramount. If a major holder like Gabelli flips, it sharply raises the odds that a hostile approach could succeed rather than wither on the vine.
Shareholders, law and a possible bidding war
Paramount’s public bid converts a private negotiation into a shareholder referendum. Under U.S. takeover law, directors must weigh competing offers with an eye to maximizing shareholder value; once a board publicly rejects a proposal, reversing course is legally and politically delicate. That’s precisely why Ellison said he expects WBD directors to be constrained — and why a sweetener remains a real possibility.
Paramount’s playbook appears to include either boosting price or letting the market decide. Shareholders have a deadline to act: they can tender to Paramount through early January, a window that may encourage late-stage price discovery. Observers who remember the Disney‑Comcast battle for Fox’s assets expect a sequel: more money, more maneuvering, and perhaps a higher final price.
Washington’s role — and why the White House matters here
Corporate deals between major entertainment companies don’t live in a vacuum. President Trump has publicly signaled he intends to “be involved” in scrutinizing the Netflix-WBD agreement, citing concerns about market concentration. He’s also floated a controversial idea for chip exports — allowing Nvidia to ship H200 AI chips to select customers overseas only if the U.S. takes a cut — that underlines how politically charged tech and media approvals have become.
Regulatory scrutiny could slow or reshape any transaction. If the federal government treats a full takeover of WBD by another large media owner as a matter of national economic policy or competition, approvals could become bargaining chips in the weeks ahead.
Why this matters to viewers, advertisers and Wall Street
For viewers, this is about where franchises and content ultimately live. A sale of studio assets to Netflix would deepen the streamer’s library and influence over production pipelines. A full buyout by Paramount would leave TV networks, news properties and linear distribution in play — a much broader reshaping of the media landscape.
Advertisers and distributors are watching too. Ownership shifts change ad inventory, licensing bargains, and distribution leverage. Investors, hungry for real-time data on shifting market sentiment, are using upgraded finance tools to track bids, rumors and share movements — an evolution highlighted recently by new features aimed at traders and analysts in the retail finance stack.Google Finance’s new Deep Search and live market tools have become a quiet fixture for traders parsing these fast moves.
Two practical scenarios
- Paramount sweetens its offer. That’s the simplest route to a negotiated outcome and the one many deal veterans expect. Ellison’s statement that the original bid did not include “best and final” leaves room to maneuver.
- The contest goes to shareholders. If large holders like Gabelli tender and enough other investors follow, the transaction could be decided at the shareholder level rather than by directors — forcing Netflix, Paramount and potentially Comcast to up their game.
Either outcome will ripple beyond Hollywood. The deal would reset rights to lucrative film and series franchises, alter bargaining power with platforms and advertisers, and likely inspire fresh regulatory scrutiny of media consolidation. It also underscores a media market in which deep-pocketed private actors — and even political actors — can still shape corporate outcomes.
As this fight unfolds, expect fast-moving developments: letters to shareholders, new filings, potential price adjustments and, almost certainly, more public posturing. For anyone tracking where big-content ownership is headed, this is more than another M&A skirmish — it’s the next chapter in how Hollywood organizes its future. For background on how streaming relationships and platform distribution are fraying and reconfiguring across the industry, consider how recent disputes have affected platform partnerships and consumer access.Google’s pullback from Movies Anywhere is one example of those shifting alliances.