December 9, 2025 | 11:26 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - US production company Paramount said on Monday that it was looking to challenge Netflix's takeover of Warner Brothers Discovery with a hostile bid of its own.
Netflix reached a $72 billion (€62 billion) takeover deal with Warner Bros. on Friday but Paramount said it would be approaching shareholders with a bid worth around $108.4 billion.
The studio claims its offer for the entire Warner Bros. Discovery is better than Netflix's, providing shareholders with $18 billion more in cash and a more straightforward regulatory approval process.
What's more, unlike Netflix, Paramount says it is also offering to buy the cable assets of Warner Bros., and asking shareholders to reject the Netflix bid which it says is based on an "illusory prospective valuation" of those assets.
Paramount criticized the Netflix offer, saying it "exposes WBD shareholders to a protracted multi-jurisdictional regulatory clearance process with an uncertain outcome along with a complex and volatile mix of equity and cash."
Paramount said it had submitted six proposals to WBD over a 12-week period.
"We believe our offer will create a stronger Hollywood. It is in the best interests of the creative community, consumers and the movie theater industry," Paramount Chairman and CEO David Ellison said in a statement.
"We believe they will benefit from the enhanced competition, higher content spend and theatrical release output, and a greater number of movies in theaters as a result of our proposed transaction," he added.
What has Trump said about the deal?
US President Donald Trump also said Sunday that the Netflix deal "could be a problem" because of the size of the combined market share.
The president added that he would be personally involved in the federal government's decision to approve the bid or not.
Given Trump's personal ties to Paramount – CEO Ellison is the son of longtime Trump supporter Larry Ellison, the world's second-richest person – the president's skepticism regarding the Netflix was understandable.
"He said he's going to be involved in the decision we should take him at face value," said Usha Haley, a Wichita State University professor who specializes in international business strategy.
"For him, it's just greater control over the media."
Read: US: Trump Casts Doubt on Netflix-Warner Bros. Deal
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