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Netflix drops Warner Bros bid, clearing way for Paramount’s deal
The Straits Times
|February 28, 2026
Netflix has dropped out of a months-long battle to buy Warner Bros Discovery, clearing the way for rival bidder Paramount Skydance to clinch its US$111 billion (S$140.3 billion) offer for the historic Hollywood studio.
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“We’ve always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid,” Netflix said in a statement on Feb 26.
Netflix shares jumped as much as 13 per cent in after-hours trading, indicating that investors were happy to see the company walk away from the deal.
Warner Bros shares fell with investors no longer anticipating a bidding war. Paramount shares were unchanged.
Netflix inked an US$82.7 billion deal, including assumed debt, to acquire the studio and streaming businesses of Warner Bros in December, but repeated counteroffers from Paramount for the entire company reopened the bidding.
Warner Bros deemed Paramount's latest US$31-a-share offer superior on Feb 26.
The Warner Bros board still has to terminate the Netflix deal and adopt Paramount Skydance’s offer.
This story is from the February 28, 2026 edition of The Straits Times.
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