Mega Media Mergers

A landmark Netflix/Paramount-Warner Bros acquisition is in the works. However, it's the latest one in a wave of big-ticket mergers reshaping streaming, TV and films

- SAMIDHA JAIN

WARNER BROS DISCOVERY (WBD)’s TV, film studios and streaming division has become the prize that everyone wants. On December 5, Netflix announced the acquisition of WBD for $72 billion—the streaming platform’s biggest acquisition ever. The deal came after weeks of bidding, with Netflix offering nearly $28 per share, beating Paramount-Skydance, which had made several offers to buy all of WBD, including its cable TV assets.

As per reports, the deal is expected to close 12 to 18 months after WBD completes the previously planned spinoff of its Global Networks division (Discovery Global)—including CNN, TNT and Discovery—now targeted for Q3 2026. The assets that will be part of the deal includes WBD’s film and television studios, HBO/HBO Max and related streaming assets, and the vast film and TV library and major franchises owned by WBD/HBO.

Just days after the Netflix announcement, on December 8, the David Ellison-run Paramount Skydance launched a hostile bid to buy WBD. Paramount decided to go straight to WBD shareholders with an all-cash, $30 per share offer, $2 more than Netflix’s offer. The offer is supported by equity funding from the Ellison family (David Ellison is son of billionaire Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle Corporation) and the private equity firm RedBird Capital, along with $54 billion in debt commitments from Bank of America, Citi, and Apollo Global Management, Paramount said in a news release.