Paramount Skydance Intensifies Hostile Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery

The battle for control of media conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has entered a critical new phase, emerging as one of the most aggressive corporate takeover contests in recent memory. A substantially improved hostile bid from Paramount Skydance, now backed by a multi-billion-dollar guarantee from Oracle founder Larry Ellison, directly challenges a previously agreed-upon merger plan with Netflix.

The turning point arrived with a revised cash offer of $30 per share from Paramount Skydance. This new proposal directly addresses the core objection raised by the Warner Bros. Discovery board, which had rejected an earlier bid on December 17, labeling it "illusory" due to financing concerns. The pivotal change is Larry Ellison's personal commitment to secure $40.4 billion of the equity required for the transaction. This substantial financial backing significantly undermines the board's prior rationale for dismissal and places considerable pressure on WBD's directors to reconsider.

This development casts serious doubt on the alternative path WBD had charted. The company's signed merger agreement with Netflix involves a transaction valued at an estimated $72 billion, but it is structured to acquire only the streaming and studio divisions. Under that plan, legacy linear television networks, including CNN and TNT, would be spun off into a separate entity. By contrast, the Paramount Skydance offer proposes a straightforward, full-company acquisition for cash.

A Strategic Crossroads for a Struggling Giant

This escalating takeover fight represents a climax in a tumultuous period for Warner Bros. Discovery. The firm has been contending with a burdensome debt load, disappointing box office returns, and the persistent structural decline of its traditional cable TV business. The choice now facing its board is not merely transactional but strategic, setting the long-term direction for the entire enterprise.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Warner Bros. Discovery (A)?

The two options present fundamentally different visions. The Netflix deal would cleave the prized content-creation assets from the perceived anchor of the linear networks. Paramount Skydance, however, is pursuing a strategy of traditional media consolidation, which would unite two major Hollywood studios. This latter approach is already attracting intense scrutiny and is expected to face significant regulatory hurdles.

A Deadline for Decision-Makers

For shareholders and market observers, all eyes are now on the calendar. The enhanced Paramount Skydance offer carries a critical expiration date of January 21, 2026. In the coming days, the WBD board is obligated to issue a formal recommendation to its shareholders.

With the primary concern over funding now ostensibly resolved, the board's calculus has shifted. Directors must determine whether the regulatory risks inherent in a merger with Paramount outweigh the potentially lower financial valuation offered by the more complex Netflix arrangement. Market sentiment, as reflected in WBD's share price hovering near the $29 level, suggests investors are pricing in a serious possibility that the hostile bid will succeed.