Paramount Global CEO David Ellison launched a hostile $108.4 billion all-cash tender offer directly to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders on December 8, 2025, after WBD CEO David Zaslav stopped responding to calls and texts about a sixth unsolicited bid, effectively ghosting him.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the dramatic move came four days after Ellison, on the morning of December 4, texted Zaslav about a revised all-cash $77.9 billion enterprise-value proposal ($30 per share) that he believed addressed every prior concern. Zaslav never replied, even as Paramount warned in letters that WBD’s board was running an “unfair and tilted” process favoring Netflix.
Hours later, on December 5, Netflix announced an $82.7 billion deal to acquire only WBD’s studios, Max streaming service, and HBO, leaving cable assets (CNN, TNT, etc.) behind under Zaslav.
Ellison’s hostile bid, fully backstopped by his billionaire father Larry Ellison, RedBird Capital, and a consortium including Saudi, Qatari, and Abu Dhabi sovereign funds, bypasses WBD’s board entirely and offers shareholders roughly $18 billion more in immediate cash than the Netflix transaction.
Paramount has signaled the $30-per-share offer is not its final number.
The bid caps a 12-week campaign in which Paramount raised its unsolicited offer six times, climbing from $19 to $30 per share. Zaslav rejected every approach, reportedly viewing Paramount as too small and preferring to split the company. Sources say Larry Ellison lobbied President Trump against the Netflix deal, and Trump publicly criticized it, but the White House influence appears limited.
WBD shares rose 4.41% and Paramount (PSKY) jumped 9.02% on the hostile announcement, while Netflix fell 3.44%. WBD’s board has until approximately December 18 to respond formally, setting the stage for a potential proxy war as Paramount courts shareholders directly in what is shaping up as one of the most aggressive takeover battles in Hollywood history.