Netflix withdraws from the battle to buy Warner Bros after Paramount's new offer

Los Angeles.- Entertainment giant Netflix announced this Thursday that it is withdrawing from the battle to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) after the new offer presented this week by its rival in this bid, Paramount Skydance (PSKY). Netflix "has declined to increase its offer for Warner Bros.", after receiving a WBD notification "indicating that its board of directors has determined that the latest PSKY proposal constitutes a 'superior proposal' according to the terms of the current merger agreement" between both companies, indicated the company co-led by Ted Sarandos in a statement.

Although the transaction negotiated last December between Netflix and WBD "had generated value for shareholders, with a clear path to regulatory approval", the price required to match PSKY's latest offer "is no longer financially attractive", added the entertainment giant.

"That is why we decline to match Paramount Skydance's offer," the writer stated.

The entertainment giant's main rival in the battle to acquire Paramount presented a new offer this week valued at $31 per share, in an attempt to compete with the sale agreement that the legendary studio has with Netflix.

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The revised PSKY offer includes the payment of $31 per share in cash, up from the previously proposed $30, as well as an additional payment of $0.25 per share per quarter starting September 30, 2026, if the transaction has not closed by then. Likewise, it is committed to paying the $2.8 billion that WBD would have to pay Netflix for breaking its agreement, and would provide additional capital if necessary to meet the solvency requirements of lending banks. WBD publicly considered this Thursday that this new offer was "superior" to the one presented last December by Netflix, so a window of four business days was opened for the latter to respond with a new counteroffer. Paramount's new offer responded to the one made by Netflix last December as part of a preliminary agreement to acquire the studios and live streaming businesses of WBD for $27.75 per share, valuing those assets at about $72 billion, with a total enterprise value close to $82.7 billion. The withdrawal from this multi-million dollar deal for the purchase of one of the entertainment titans occurs on the same day that Sarandos visits the White House to hold various meetings, although he is not expected to meet with US President Donald Trump.