Warner Board Reports Paramount Will Consider Increasing Their Offer to Over $31 a Share if Talks Continue
As Paramount continues its aggressive pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery with cash offers set at $30 per share, the question circulating in both Wall Street and Hollywood is whether the company will raise its bid.
In a significant development, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) announced it will enter into a seven-day negotiation period with David Ellison’s company, despite maintaining its commitment to the merger with Netflix. According to WBD, Ellison’s team verbally indicated a willingness to increase their offer to $31 per share, contingent on engaging in talks, which WBD has now agreed to initiate.
In a letter to Paramount, WBD’s board stated, “On February 11th, a senior representative of your financial advisor communicated orally to a member of our Board that PSKY would agree to pay $31 per WBD share if we engage with you, and that $31 is not PSKY’s best and final proposal.”
The correspondence further noted, “We are writing to inform you that Netflix has agreed to provide WBD a waiver of certain terms of the Netflix merger agreement to permit us, through February 23, to engage with PSKY to clarify your proposal, which we understand will include a WBD per share price higher than $31. We seek your best and final proposal.”
However, WBD’s board remains cautious, stating that it has not concluded that the proposal from Ellison’s firm would offer greater value than the existing agreement with Netflix. The board reiterated its commitment to the Netflix merger, planning a special shareholder meeting on March 20, 2026, to vote on the agreement.
Netflix’s current offer stands at $27.75 per share, which was enhanced from a previous mix of cash and stock. This deal includes Warner Bros. Studios and streaming assets, while linear television operations under Discovery Global are set to be spun off into a separate public entity.
As Paramount escalates its takeover bid for WBD, the latest offer on February 10 maintained the $30 per share base price but included various concessions aimed at persuading Warner to reconsider. Several shareholders from WBD have also been advocating for increased engagement in negotiations.
It is noteworthy that Netflix retains matching rights in this scenario. The streaming giant stated today that, “While we are confident that our transaction provides superior value and certainty, we recognize the ongoing distraction for WBD stockholders and the broader entertainment industry caused by PSKY’s antics. Accordingly, we granted WBD a narrow seven-day waiver of certain obligations under our merger agreement to allow them to engage with PSKY to fully and finally resolve this matter.”
