New York, Jan 8, 2026, 06:22 EST — Premarket
- Netflix stock was up 0.1% in premarket trading after the company reiterated support for its Warner Bros. Discovery merger agreement.
- Warner Bros’ board urged shareholders to reject Paramount Skydance’s amended tender offer and said the Netflix deal offers better certainty.
- Investors are watching regulatory reviews, any further move from Paramount, and Netflix’s Jan. 20 earnings report.
Netflix stock (NFLX) inched up 0.1% to $90.73 in premarket trading on Thursday after the streaming company reaffirmed its commitment to a proposed deal for key Warner Bros. Discovery assets.
The fresh statement matters because the takeover fight around Warner Bros. Discovery has become the main near-term overhang for Netflix shares, with investors weighing potential dilution, regulatory scrutiny and the risk that a rival bidder forces a higher price.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s board on Wednesday urged shareholders to reject Paramount Skydance’s amended tender offer — a bid made directly to shareholders — and said it did not qualify as a “Superior Proposal” under its merger agreement with Netflix. The board said the Netflix deal would give WBD holders $23.25 in cash, Netflix shares with a target value of $4.50, and ownership in the planned Discovery Global spinoff. 1
Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said the WBD board continued to view Netflix’s agreement as “the superior proposal” and argued the combination would broaden the companies’ film, TV and streaming reach. Netflix put the transaction at $27.75 per WBD share, valuing it at about $82.7 billion. 2
Netflix said it has filed the Hart-Scott-Rodino notification — the U.S. antitrust paperwork required for large mergers — and is engaging competition authorities, including the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission. The company also said it expects to file an S-4 registration statement with the SEC, the required document for issuing stock in a merger. 3
Warner Bros. Discovery shares were up 0.3% before the bell, while Paramount Skydance fell 1.1%, as traders looked for signs the bidder might sweeten terms again or push harder with shareholders.
A Reuters report this week showed how the market is trying to pin down value for the planned cable-network separation, using Comcast’s newly listed Versant Media as a comparison point, and why that debate matters for whether WBD holders ultimately back Netflix’s deal. 4
But the path is not clean. The transaction still needs shareholder and regulatory approvals, and a prolonged review — or a higher counteroffer — could pressure Netflix to improve terms, or leave the companies stuck in limbo as rivals and regulators lean in.
Investors also have a nearer catalyst: Netflix is scheduled to post fourth-quarter 2025 results and its outlook on Jan. 20 after the market close, a report likely to be read for cash-generation signals and any update on the Warner Bros timeline. 5
