Paramount Skydance submitted a higher offer for Warner Bros Discovery, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday, ratcheting up efforts to derail the HBO Max owner\u2019s deal with Netflix. The bidding war for one of Hollywood\u2019s most coveted assets, including the \u201cHarry Potter\u201d and \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d franchises, has raised the stakes for dominance in the streaming-led market. Paramount\u2019s new bid \u2014 which improves its initial offer of $108.4 billion, or $30 per share, for the whole company \u2014 seeks to address Warner Bros concerns about the certainty of its financing, the source said. Reuters could not immediately determine how the bid was revised. Warner Bros and Paramount declined to comment, while Netflix could not immediately be reached. Warner Bros\u2019 chosen suitor, Netflix, which offered to buy the studios and streaming assets for $27.75 per share in cash, or $82.7 billion, is allowed to match the latest bid from David Ellison-led Paramount. Netflix has ample cash and could bump up its offer for HBO Max owner, while Paramount\u2019s rival bid is backed by Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison. Advertisement \u00b7 Scroll to continue Report Ad The CBS parent was asked to submit its \u201cbest and final offer\u201d after Warner Bros rejected an enhanced bid that included paying the $2.8 billion in termination fee to Netflix and adding a 25-cent per share quarterly \u201cticking fee\u201d from next year to compensate Warner Bros shareholders for any delay in deal closure. Warner Bros had said Paramount\u2019s February 10 offer still falls short of what its board would consider a superior proposal and gave a seven-day deadline until February 23 to submit a revised offer. MoffettNathanson analysts had earlier said that an offer in the range of $34 per share from Paramount would end the bidding war and \u201cavoid further debate over Discovery Global\u2019s value.\u201d Warner Bros plans to spin off its cable TV assets, such as CNN and HGTV, into Discovery Global, which could fetch between $1.33 and $6.86 a share, according to Warner Bros estimates. Netflix said its offer gives Warner Bros shareholders added upside from the Discovery Global spinoff, which WBD argues will add value by giving the new company greater strategic, operational and financial flexibility. However, Paramount has said the cable spinoff central to the streaming giant\u2019s offer is effectively worthless. The David Zaslav-led Warner Bros came under pressure from Ancora Capital after the activist investor built a roughly $200 million stake in the HBO owner and accused the company of failing to adequately engage with Paramount. The investor warned if Warner Bros refuses to re-enter discussions with Paramount, it will vote against the Netflix deal and hold the company\u2019s board accountable during its annual meeting. Shares of Paramount rose 1.3% to $10.70 in extended trading. REGULATORY SCRUTINY Warner Bros shareholders were set to decide the fate of Netflix\u2019s offer on March 20, with the vote expected to be a pivotal moment in the high-stakes bidding war to seal the future of one of Hollywood\u2019s most iconic movie studios. A green light from investors would move the deal forward, but it would still face intense scrutiny from US and European competition authorities, who must assess whether combining Netflix\u2019s global streaming power with Warner Bros\u2019 century-old studio assets would reduce competition or limit consumer choice. A bipartisan array of lawmakers has raised concerns about the potential harm to consumers and creatives. Paramount said it has already secured foreign-investment clearance in Germany and is in talks with antitrust regulators in the US, the European Union and the UK. Paramount has repeatedly argued it has a clearer path to regulatory approval than Netflix. Paramount\u2019s bid will create a studio bigger than market leader Disney and fuse two major TV operators, which some Democratic senators say will control \u201calmost everything Americans watch on TV\u201d. It will also hand control of CNN to the conservative-leaning Ellisons, soon after they acquired CBS News and installed Bari Weiss as its editor-in-chief. For Netflix, a combination with HBO Max would make it the biggest global streaming player, with roughly half a billion subscribers. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has voiced confidence in winning approval, saying the company\u2019s bid would be better for Hollywood as it would avoid job cuts in an industry already hit by fewer productions and uneven box-office returns. The streaming pioneer said during deal talks that the potential combination of its streaming service with HBO Max would benefit consumers by lowering the cost of a bundled offering. But the argument that it needs Warner Bros to compete with YouTube, America\u2019s most-watched TV distributor, is likely to face pushback from the Department of Justice. As part of its regulatory review, the US Department of Justice is examining whether Netflix engaged in anti-competitive practices. Netflix has cited statistics from media analysis firm Nielsen showing that Google\u2019s YouTube accounts for more viewing time on US televisions than other streaming services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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