NEW YORK, Jan 26, 2026, 01:59 EST
- Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters slammed Paramount Skydance’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, calling it loaded with debt and dependent on Larry Ellison.
- Paramount’s tender offer wraps up on Feb. 20. Netflix and Warner are aiming for a shareholder vote slated for April.
- U.S. and European regulators are gearing up to closely examine any outcome, raising the rare chance of simultaneous reviews.
Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters slammed Paramount Skydance’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, calling the deal’s leverage “pretty crazy” and saying it wouldn’t fly without backing from Oracle founder Larry Ellison. Peters also pointed out that Netflix’s competition isn’t just studios—it includes platforms like YouTube, Amazon, and Apple. 1
The Warner dispute is pivotal as it tests the limits of streaming consolidation before antitrust concerns kick in. Meanwhile, European Union regulators are gearing up to examine rival bids from Netflix and Paramount on a similar schedule, creating an unusual direct clash in competition scrutiny. 2
Netflix and Warner are pushing to speed things up, aiming for Warner stockholders to vote by April under the amended deal. Paramount, meanwhile, has gone directly to investors with its bid. “Our revised all-cash agreement will enable an expedited timeline,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in a joint statement with Warner on the updated terms. 3
Netflix’s bid puts Warner’s studio and streaming units at $27.75 per share in cash, while shareholders would hold a stake in a spun-off company, Discovery Global, which contains the cable networks. The offer switched from a cash-and-stock deal to all cash after Netflix’s share price dropped, Reuters reported. 4
Peters questioned Paramount’s financing, arguing the rival bid is weighed down by debt and loses credibility without Ellison backing it, Reuters reported, citing the Financial Times. Netflix, Warner, and Paramount did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment in that story. 5
Paramount has extended its $30-per-share all-cash tender offer—aimed directly at shareholders—until Feb. 20. The bid values Warner at roughly $108.4 billion in enterprise value, including debt. As of late Jan. 21, Paramount reported that 168,511,695 Warner shares had been tendered. The company also warned that the Netflix deal might yield less cash if Warner can’t transfer up to $17 billion of debt onto Discovery Global. 6
The two bids zero in on distinct segments of Warner. Netflix aims to acquire the studio and streaming units, while Paramount is after the entire company, including cable and news outlets like CNN — a move that would place CNN alongside CBS, the Associated Press reported. Paramount has also announced plans for a proxy fight, trying to swap out board members as it pushes shareholders to reject Netflix’s offer. 7
The regulatory countdown is ticking in parallel with the shareholders’ deadline. According to a Reuters report last week, Netflix has agreed to a $5.8 billion termination fee—payable if regulatory approvals don’t come through—while Warner would owe Netflix $2.8 billion if it backs out of the deal. 8
The downside is clear: a lengthy antitrust review could stall, reshape, or even block whichever deal wins out in the proxy and tender fights. Warner also faces mounting exit costs if it pulls back—one estimate pins the total at $4.7 billion, including a $2.8 billion fee payable to Netflix. 9
The political spotlight is intensifying. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos is set to testify in February at a U.S. Senate hearing about the proposed deal, Reuters reported. Warner’s chief strategy officer, Bruce Campbell, is also expected to testify. 10
Bloomberg’s ScreenTime newsletter reported this weekend that the bidding war is essentially finished—unless Paramount ups its offer enough to pull Warner’s board back into contention. 11
