Paramount launched a massive all-cash tender offer on Monday to acquire rival media conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), escalating the battle for dominance in the global streaming and content landscape and directly challenging a rival acquisition proposal from Netflix.
The unprecedented bid sets the acquisition price at $30 per share, valuing the entertainment giant at a staggering $108.4 billion. Paramount stated the offer represents a substantial 139 percent premium over WBD’s stock price recorded in September.
The move is a direct counter to an earlier, unconfirmed deal between WBD and streaming market leader Netflix. In a strongly worded public statement accompanying the offer, Paramount characterized the competing bid as “inferior and uncertain.”
Paramount Chairman and CEO David Ellison stressed that WBD shareholders should have the final say on the company’s future.
“WBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer,” Ellison said, emphasizing the confidence and immediacy of the fully funded cash proposal compared to competitors.
The potential merger would reshape the media industry, uniting major film and television properties under a single umbrella and intensifying competition against Disney and Amazon in the race for viewer subscriptions. The offer, made public on Monday, signals Paramount’s aggressive posture in consolidating traditional media assets to compete with tech-driven rivals.
