Warner Bros. board members reportedly consider reopening deal talks with Paramount
Paramount’s latest amended bid for Warner Bros. Discovery has finally given the board members of the entertainment conglomerate something to seriously think about, after Bloomberg reported over the weekend that WBD is now considering reopening negotiations with Paramount, despite striking an ~$83 billion binding deal with Netflix in early December.
With the market closed yesterday, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery investors are just now getting the chance to react to the news, with the stocks up around 3% and 1%, respectively, in premarket trading.
Last Tuesday, Paramount announced that it had enhanced its all-cash $30-per-share bid for Warner Bros., adding an offer to cover the $2.8 billion breakup fee the company would incur with Netflix, as well as a $0.25-per-share “ticking fee” for every quarter the deal hasn’t closed after the end of 2026. Despite Paramount (again) not boosting the bid’s headline cash offer, these latest terms, as well as an offer to backstop a Warner Bros. debt refinancing, have apparently proven enough to give at least some board members pause for thought.
Indeed, top brass at the HBO owner are mulling the possibility that Paramount’s boosted offer could lead to a better deal down the line, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the board’s latest thinking. Still, whether that means the WBD board is hoping for a better bid from Paramount themselves — or the streamer they’ve currently got a binding deal with — is another matter entirely.
