NEW YORK, December 29, 2025, 03:21 ET — Market closed
- WBD shares last fell 1.4% to $28.80, trading between Netflix’s $27.75-per-share deal value and Paramount’s $30 cash bid
- Paramount says its amended tender offer now expires Jan. 21, keeping takeover timing in focus
- Traders are watching for any new filings, board updates and broader market moves ahead of the opening bell
Warner Bros. Discovery shares last fell 1.4% to $28.80, leaving the stock wedged between competing takeover prices as investors head into Monday’s session waiting for the next headline in the bidding fight.
The gap matters because WBD’s share price has become a running read on whether investors expect a sweeter offer, or whether the company’s board will stick with the deal it has already endorsed. [1]
Paramount Skydance’s hostile bid is structured as a tender offer — a proposal to buy shares directly from shareholders — and the company has put a firm expiration date on it. [2]
A Dec. 5 U.S. securities filing showed Netflix agreed to acquire Warner Bros.’ film and TV studios and its HBO streaming assets in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $27.75 per WBD share, with a total enterprise value of about $82.7 billion. [3]
That filing said the transaction is expected to close after WBD’s previously announced separation of its Global Networks division into a new publicly traded company, “Discovery Global,” which is now expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2026. [4]
Paramount said on Dec. 22 it amended its $30-per-share all-cash offer and said the tender offer will now expire at 5 p.m. New York time on Jan. 21, 2026, unless further extended. [5]
In the same statement, Paramount said Oracle founder Larry Ellison would provide an “irrevocable” personal guarantee of $40.4 billion of the equity financing and that the company would raise its regulatory reverse termination fee — a payment triggered if regulators block a deal — to $5.8 billion. [6]
Warner Bros. Discovery said it had received the amended tender offer and would review it with advisers under the terms of its Netflix merger agreement, adding that it was not modifying its recommendation in favor of the Netflix transaction. [7]
“Warner Bros. Discovery stockholders are advised not to take any action at this time,” the company said in its Dec. 22 statement. [8]
David Ellison, Paramount’s chairman and CEO, said: “Our $30 per share, fully financed all-cash offer was on December 4th, and continues to be, the superior option.” [9]
In the last session, WBD traded between $28.54 and $29.23, with about 27 million shares changing hands, according to LSEG data.
At $28.80, WBD is about $1.05 above the $27.75 value tied to Netflix’s deal and $1.20 below Paramount’s $30 cash offer, leaving investors to handicap the odds of an improved bid or a prolonged fight. [10]
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Warner’s future, and the fallout for theatrical movie releases, remain uncertain whichever bidder prevails, adding to investor focus on how the company’s legacy businesses could be managed under new ownership. [11]
Before the next session, traders will be watching for any new deal-related filings and for signs that WBD’s board is nearing a recommendation on the amended tender offer it said it is reviewing. [12]
Macro data could also set the tone. The National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its November pending home sales report at 10 a.m. Eastern on Monday. [13]
On the company calendar, Wall Street earnings trackers have pegged WBD’s next report for late February, though the company has not formally set a date. [14]
Sources: [15], [16], [17], [18], [19].
References
1. ir.wbd.com, 2. www.prnewswire.com, 3. www.sec.gov, 4. www.sec.gov, 5. www.prnewswire.com, 6. www.prnewswire.com, 7. ir.wbd.com, 8. ir.wbd.com, 9. www.prnewswire.com, 10. www.sec.gov, 11. www.wsj.com, 12. ir.wbd.com, 13. www.nar.realtor, 14. www.marketbeat.com, 15. www.nasdaq.com, 16. www.sec.gov, 17. ir.wbd.com, 18. www.prnewswire.com, 19. www.nar.realtor
