Netflix has upgraded its $82.7bn (£61.5bn) takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery by making it an all-cash offer, aiming to speed up shareholder approval and block a rival bid from Paramount Skydance.
The revised deal keeps the valuation at $27.75 per share but removes shares from the structure, giving investors greater certainty and potentially allowing a vote as early as April. WBD’s board continues to unanimously support the Netflix proposal.
Under the agreement, WBD shareholders would also receive shares in a separate global networks company, including CNN and Discovery, which Netflix is not buying. Paramount is pursuing a $108.4bn hostile takeover and has sought to challenge the Netflix deal, but a Delaware judge this week rejected its lawsuit.
Netflix’s bid would hand it control of Warner Bros studios and HBO, while WBD has warned that switching to Paramount’s offer would trigger billions of dollars in additional costs.
