Paramount Skydance extended the deadline for its hostile tender offer to acquire Warner Bros.Discovery by about a month to February 20, giving it more time to convince shareholders that its all-cash bid is superior to Netflix's rival deal.
The company did not increase its offer price of $30 per share (total enterprise value over $108 billion, including debt). As of the original January 21 deadline, only about 168.5 million shares—roughly 6.8% of outstanding stock—had been tendered.
Warner Bros. Discovery's board unanimously supports Netflix's amended all-cash offer of $27.75 per share (enterprise value $82.7 billion) for the company's streaming and studio assets, including HBO Max and iconic franchises like Batman and Friends. Netflix switched to an all-cash structure earlier this week to provide greater certainty and speed up closure, addressing concerns from its prior mixed cash-and-stock proposal.
Warner Bros. has repeatedly rejected Paramount's bids as inadequate and expressed confidence in securing regulatory approval for the Netflix transaction, calling it a deal with "tremendous and certain value."
Paramount argues its bid offers higher value, a clearer regulatory path (citing ties to President Trump), and avoids risks in Netflix's plan, such as offloading $17 billion in debt to a Discovery Global spinoff for cable assets. Warner has countered with multiple valuations showing potential upside in the spinoff.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos is set to testify next month at a U.S. Senate hearing on the deal, alongside Warner's chief revenue and strategy officer. Netflix sees strategic benefits in adding HBO Max for personalized subscriptions and theatrical revenue, though some analysts warn of integration costs, content spending pressures, and added debt.