Paramount launches hostile $108.4bn bid for Warner Bros. Discovery

Paramount Skydance has launched a hostile $108.4bn offer for Warner Bros Discovery, intensifying one of the largest and most politically charged takeover battles in global media, according to news reports.

The all-cash $30-per-share proposal aims to derail Netflix’s $72bn pact announced last week.

Paramount argues its offer delivers greater value and regulatory certainty, providing $18bn more in cash to Warner Bros shareholders than Netflix’s mixed cash-and-stock bid. The firm also says a merger of Paramount and Warner Bros would create a stronger competitive counterweight to the dominant streaming platforms.

Paramount, run by David Ellison, whose family is closely allied with U.S. President Trump, said it had submitted six proposals to Warner over a 12-week period before the latest offer.

The financing behind the bid features an unusually large and diverse group of private capital investors. The Ellison family and RedBird Capital have committed $40.7bn of equity, with additional backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Qatar Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding, and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners. Bank of America, Citigroup, and Apollo are providing a $54bn bridge loan.

Paramount reshaped its financing plan after Warner Bros questioned earlier proposals. The current structure, guaranteed by the Ellison family and RedBird, removes cross-conditionality and excludes previous participants such as Tencent. Paramount says these changes give Warner Bros “complete comfort and certainty” over closing.

The bid follows six approaches over 12 weeks, including direct outreach to Warner Bros executives. Yet the target has so far remained aligned with Netflix, with reports indicating its leadership previously viewed the Netflix offer as the preferred option. Netflix’s bid, however, faces strong antitrust scrutiny and includes a $5.8bn break-up fee.

President Trump has commented publicly on both bidders, raising questions about Netflix’s deal while downplaying his involvement despite close ties to some parties financing the Paramount proposal. All Middle Eastern investors have agreed to forgo governance rights, a move designed to limit regulatory resistance.

Shares reacted sharply as the battle escalated. Paramount rose 6.8%, Warner Bros climbed 5.5%, while Netflix fell 4%. Analysts warn that Paramount’s offer carries additional debt risk and may deepen consolidation pressures across Hollywood, even as the company maintains it would be pro-competition and pro-consumer.

The takeover contest is now expected to intensify, with both political and regulatory scrutiny likely to shape the outcome.

The fight for Warner drew strong reaction in Washington, with politicians from both major parties weighing in on the likely impact on streaming prices, movie theater employment and the diversity of entertainment choices and political views.