Warner takeover battle deepens as Paramount returns with new bid

The fight for Warner Bros Discovery has entered another round, with Paramount Skydance submitting a revised takeover offer even as Warner’s board continues to steer shareholders toward a narrower deal with Netflix. The result is a high-stakes corporate contest that is as much about regulation and political optics as it is about price.

Warner said on Tuesday that it had received a new proposal from Paramount after a seven-day window to reopen talks expired the day before. Paramount, led by David Ellison — the son of Oracle cofounder and Donald Trump ally Larry Ellison — confirmed the submission but disclosed no financial details. The market had broadly expected a higher offer.

For now, Warner’s leadership is not changing course. It reiterated its support for the existing agreement with Netflix, which would see the streaming company acquire Warner’s studio and streaming assets for $72bn in cash, or roughly $83bn including debt. Shareholders are scheduled to vote on that plan on March 20.

Paramount’s strategy remains more sweeping. Its original move in December bypassed Warner’s board entirely with an all-cash hostile bid to buy the whole company — including its television networks — for $77.9bn, or about $108bn once debt is included. That offer, which equated to $30 per share for investors, is still formally on the table while the new proposal is reviewed.

The difference between the two deals would reshape the media landscape in distinct ways. A sale of Warner’s studios and streaming arm to Netflix would further entrench the streaming giant in premium film and television production while leaving the rest of Warner intact. A full acquisition by Paramount would combine two legacy media groups, creating a company larger than Disney in studio terms and merging major television operations under one roof — including CNN.

That scale is precisely what has drawn scrutiny. Lawmakers and industry groups have warned that either transaction would concentrate even more power in a sector already dominated by a handful of companies, with potential consequences ranging from job cuts to reduced creative diversity and higher costs for viewers.

Regulators are already circling. The US Department of Justice has begun its review, and other jurisdictions are expected to follow, meaning that the outcome may depend as much on antitrust clearance as on shareholder votes or headline valuations.

The companies are trying to frame the regulatory debate to their advantage. Paramount has argued that a Netflix acquisition would deepen the streamer’s dominance in subscription video on demand, pointing to its far larger market value. Netflix, for its part, is telling regulators that its real competition is not traditional studios but the scale of online video platforms, particularly YouTube, the most-watched TV distributor in the United States.

Politics has also seeped into what both sides insist is a commercial decision. Paramount’s bid would place CNN under the control of the Ellison family, whose recent media moves have leaned in a more conservative direction. After acquiring CBS News, they installed Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief despite her lack of television experience and appointed former Trump administration official Kenneth Weinstein as ombudsman. CBS also settled a $16m lawsuit brought by Trump over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.

Media reports said David Ellison visited the White House in December and told Trump that Paramount would implement “sweeping changes” if it took control of CNN’s parent company. More recently, Trump called on Netflix to remove former national security adviser Susan Rice from its board.

Netflix chief executive Ted Sarandos has pushed back on the political framing.

“This is a business deal. It’s not a political deal,” he said on BBC Radio 4, adding that the process would ultimately be decided by regulators in the United States and abroad. Trump, who at one point suggested he might influence the outcome, has since said approval would rest with the Justice Department.