Paramount once again enhances its Warner Bros. bid without boosting its per-share offer
Paramount continues to do everything except the one thing that would vault its Warner Bros. Discovery bid into a winning position.
On Tuesday, the company beefed up its bid for WBD by adding an incremental payout if its deal closing were to be too slow, as well as offering to cover breakup expenses if WBD’s tie-up with Netflix were to end.
But again, Paramount stopped short of raising its $30-per-share value.
Getting into the nitty gritty, Paramount said it will pay a shareholders a “ticking fee” of $0.25 per share for every quarter the deal hasn’t closed after the end of 2026. (For comparison, Netflix and WBD expect their deal to close 12 to 18 months from when their merger deal was struck, which was December 5 of last year.)
Paramount also pledged to fund the $2.8 billion termination fee to Netflix, which has been a sticking point for the WBD board. Paramount said it would also eliminate a possible $1.5 billion refinancing cost of debt.
The company’s last attempt to boost its offer included a $40.4 billion personal guarantee from billionaire Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.
Event contracts show a slight boost in Paramount’s odds to end up in control of Warner Bros. following the announcement, though Netflix is still firmly the favorite.
(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)
But again, Paramount stopped short of raising its $30-per-share value.
Getting into the nitty gritty, Paramount said it will pay a shareholders a “ticking fee” of $0.25 per share for every quarter the deal hasn’t closed after the end of 2026. (For comparison, Netflix and WBD expect their deal to close 12 to 18 months from when their merger deal was struck, which was December 5 of last year.)
Paramount also pledged to fund the $2.8 billion termination fee to Netflix, which has been a sticking point for the WBD board. Paramount said it would also eliminate a possible $1.5 billion refinancing cost of debt.
The company’s last attempt to boost its offer included a $40.4 billion personal guarantee from billionaire Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.
Event contracts show a slight boost in Paramount’s odds to end up in control of Warner Bros. following the announcement, though Netflix is still firmly the favorite.
(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)
