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Warner Bros. board spurns Paramount’s latest advance, continuing to support Netflix deal

Paramount has now made six formal offers for Warner Bros. Discovery.

1/7/26 8:53AM

It’s official: the sixth time was not the charm for Paramount, as the Warner Bros. Discovery board on Wednesday unanimously, and officially, voted to reject the company’s Larry Ellison-backed offer.

Paramount’s latest hostile takeover attempt didn’t boost its $30-per-share offer, but did include a $40.4 billion personal guarantee from Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount’s CEO, David Ellison. That update directly addressed the WBD board’s concern that Paramount’s deal being backed by a revocable trust meant it could pull out of the agreement at any time.

Still, the update wasn’t enough to persuade WBD to recommend the deal over Netflix’s.

“The Board unanimously determined that the Paramount’s latest offer remains inferior to our merger agreement with Netflix across multiple key areas,” Samuel Di Piazza Jr., chair of the WBD board, said in a statement. “Paramount’s offer continues to provide insufficient value, including terms such as an extraordinary amount of debt financing that create risks to close and lack of protections for our shareholders if a transaction is not completed.”

Warner Bros.’ board also noted that the company would owe Netflix a $2.8 billion termination fee if it pivoted to Paramount’s deal, along with a $1.5 billion fee for not completing its debt exchange.

“These costs would, in effect, lower the net amount of the regulatory termination fee that PSKY would pay to WBD from $5.8 billion to $1.1 billion in the event of a failed transaction with PSKY,” the company said.

Netflix issued a statement in support of the WBD board vote, writing: “Netflix and Warner Bros. will bring together highly complementary strengths and a shared passion for storytelling. By joining forces, we will offer audiences even more of the series and films they love — at home and in theaters — expand opportunities for creators, and help foster a dynamic, competitive, and thriving entertainment industry.”

Event contracts show increased optimism in Netflix’s likelihood to end up buying WBD, with its odds at 63% as of 8:40 a.m. ET, up from 57% as of 7 a.m. ET. Event contracts had Netflix’s odds hovering around 40% in the days following Paramount’s renewed bid.

(Robinhood Markets Inc. is the parent company of Sherwood Media, an independently operated media company subject to certain legal and regulatory restrictions. Event contracts trading is offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, a registered futures commission merchant with the CFTC.)

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Paramount is expected to raise its Warner Bros. offer to $32 per share

Paramount’s seven-day window to talk to Warner Bros. Discovery about its best and final offer is set to end at 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, and the company is expected to finally raise the per-share dollar amount of its bid.

According to reporting by Variety, Paramount’s revised offer is likely to arrive at $32 per share for the HBO and CNN parent.

Paramount’s last major revision to its offer came earlier this month, when it said it would cover the $2.8 billion breakup fee that WBD would owe Netflix in the event of that deal falling apart, and would pay shareholders a “ticking fee” of $0.25 per share for every quarter the deal hasn’t closed after the end of 2026.

Netflix’s next move will be determined by the response of Warner Bros.’ board. Per reporting by Reuters, the streamer has ample cash to increase its own offer for its streaming rival. Analysts at MoffettNathanson Research last week said they expect Netflix to walk away from Warner Bros. if Paramount’s bid comes in “well beyond” $32.

As of Monday at 9 a.m. ET, prediction markets speculating on which company will ultimately come out on top of the bidding war have Netflix at a 46% chance over Paramount’s 43% odds.

Also potentially affecting prediction markets is a Truth Social post by President Trump on Sunday, in which Trump wrote that Netflix must fire board member Susan Rice immediately or "pay the consequences."

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

Paramount Is Expected to Raise Price of Warner Bros. Discovery Bid. Will Netflix Walk Away?

As of Monday at 9 a.m. ET, prediction markets speculating on which company will ultimately come out on top of the bidding war have Netflix at a 46% chance over Paramount’s 43% odds.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

Max Knoblauch2/20/26

Microsoft makes dramatic shake-up to its gaming division as gaming CEO Phil Spencer and Xbox President Sarah Bond depart

Microsoft’s gaming division underwent a major shake-up on Friday, as the tech giant announced the departure of gaming CEO Phil Spencer, who led the division for 12 years and championed its Game Pass subscription service.

Xbox President Sarah Bond is also out, according to Spencer’s memo to employees.

Xbox has fallen significantly behind rivals Sony and Nintendo in recent years. Microsoft raised Xbox console prices twice last year and bumped subscription fees up 50%. In November, the console was even outsold (in unit sales) by the motion-controlled Nex Playground console.

The pair have overseen a shift at Xbox from standard consoles to an array of consoles, handhelds, and various devices and screens accessed via cloud gaming.

Spencer’s replacement as the head of gaming is Microsoft’s president of CoreAI product, Asha Sharma. In a memo to staff, Sharma made three commitments: great games, the “return of Xbox,” and to “invent new business models and new ways to play.”

Xbox chief Phil Spencer is leaving Microsoft

The pair have overseen a shift at Xbox from standard consoles to an array of consoles, handhelds, and various devices and screens accessed via cloud gaming.

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Judge rejects Tesla’s attempt to overturn $243 million verdict over fatal 2019 autopilot crash

Tesla’s effort to appeal a $243 million jury verdict related to a fatal 2019 crash that occurred when a Tesla vehicle was in self-driving mode was rejected by a federal judge in a ruling made public on Friday.

Tesla is expected to appeal the decision to a higher court.

The case was the first federal lawsuit surrounding an autopilot death to go to a jury trial for Tesla. In August, a jury found the automaker 33% responsible for the 2019 crash. The jury determined that Tesla was partly to blame for enabling the driver to take his eyes off the road, and the company was ordered to pay an additional $200 million in punitive damages.

Tesla reportedly turned down a $60 million settlement offer prior to the trial. According to Electrek, dozens of similar cases involving the EV maker are working through the court system.

This month, Tesla stopped using the term “autopilot” in its marketing in order to avoid a sales ban in California. Tesla appears to have replaced the term with “Traffic Aware Cruise Control” and added “supervised” to its mentions of Full Self-Driving tech.

US judge upholds $243 million verdict against Tesla over fatal Autopilot crash

Tesla reportedly turned down a $60 million settlement offer prior to the trial. According to Electrek, dozens of similar cases involving the EV maker are working through the court system.

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Etsy sells fashion app Depop to eBay, as the pair’s postpandemic paths split further

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