Netflix bows out of the auction for Warner Bros.

The streaming company declines to raise its bid after being topped by Paramount.

- MEG JAMES AND ANA CEBALLOS

WARNER BROS. Studios in Burbank. Netflix has bowed out of the auction to buy the historic film company.

Netflix bowed out of the Warner Bros. Discovery sweepstakes Thursday, conceding the prize to Paramount Skydance, a dramatic capstone to one of Hollywood's biggest auctions in years.

The reversal came after Warner Bros. Discovery switched gears, announcing that Paramount's revised bid had topped the one on the table from Netflix.

Netflix had been given four business days to regroup and potentially submit a higher offer; but late Thursday, Netflix announced that it had no intention to raise its bid.

“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 Co-Chief Executives Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said in a statement.

Netflix also felt pressure from its investors. The streaming giant’s stock, which edged up 2.3% Thursday to close at $84.59, has been pounded since it initially emerged as the top bidder in December with a deal valued at $82.7 billion.

The streaming giant’s flagging stock and mounting resistance to its deal in Washington appears to have contributed to the decision to pull the plug on its effort to bulk up with HBO, HBO Max, the storied Burbank studios and its spacious film campus.

In addition, Paramount Chairman David Ellison and his billionaire father Larry Ellison, who is backing the deal, demonstrated they had mettle and determination to outspend and outlast their competitors in their quest to build a new entertainment juggernaut.