Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos arrives at the White Rental in Washington, Feb. 26, 2026.
Andrew Leyden | Getty Images
Netflix is strolling a ways from a deal to aquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming sources after the WBD board on Thursday deemed a revised repeat by Paramount Skydance to be a superior provide.
Earlier this week, Paramount raised its repeat to aquire the whole lot of WBD to $31 per part, up from $30 per part, all cash. It used to be the most contemporary modification to Paramount’s more than one provides in most up-to-date months — and since transferring forward with a adverse repeat to aquire the corporate — and or no longer it’s now unseated a deal between WBD and Netflix to sell the legacy media company’s studio and streaming firms for $27.75 per part.
Final week, Netflix granted WBD a seven-day waiver to reengage with Paramount, main to the better repeat. Paramount’s provide is for the whole lot of WBD, along side its pay-TV networks, fair like CNN, TBS and TNT.
Netflix had four industrial days to in discovering changes to its like proposal in mild of Paramount’s superior repeat, the WBD board stated in a press open Thursday.
As an replacement, the decision by the streaming huge to bound away puts a pin in a drawn-out saga that seen amended provides from each and each bidders.
“Netflix is a great company and throughout this process Ted, Greg, Spence and everyone there have been extraordinary partners to us. We wish them well in the future,” WBD CEO David Zaslav stated in a press open, relating to Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters and CFO Spencer Neumann. “Once our Board votes to adopt the Paramount merger agreement, it will create tremendous value for our shareholders. We are excited about the potential of a combined Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery and can’t wait to get started working together telling the stories that move the world.”
Netflix stock spiked 10% in prolonged trading Thursday, whereas Paramount stock received 5%. Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery fell 2%.
“The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval,” Sarandos and Peters stated in a observation. “However, 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.”
The most contemporary Paramount repeat integrated a $7 billion breakup payment in the tournament the proposed merger doesn’t receive regulatory approval. The corporate also agreed to pay the $2.8 billion breakup payment that WBD would owe Netflix if that deal did no longer struggle via.
Sarandos told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin in an interview final week that Netflix granted WBD the waiver to reopen Paramount talks in declare to present shareholders readability.
“Paramount had been making a ton of noise, flooding the zone with confusion for shareholders … including floating all these hypothetical offers and talking directly to the shareholders and bypassing the Warner Bros. Discovery board,” Sarandos stated at the time. “So we’ve given the opportunity to get those shareholders exactly what they deserve, which is complete clarity and certainty.”
On the opposite hand, Sarandos had fallen wanting commenting on whether Netflix would up its like provide to test a revised Paramount repeat.
And Thursday, Sarandos attended conferences at the White Rental to debate the capacity tie-up.
“Warner Bros. is a world-class organization, and we want to thank David Zaslav, Gunnar Wiedenfels, Bruce Campbell, Brad Singer and the WBD Board for running a fair and rigorous process,” the Netflix co-CEOs stated in their observation.
“We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.’ iconic brands, and that our deal would have strengthened the entertainment industry and preserved and created more production jobs in the U.S.,” they stated. “But this transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price.”
