“So, I don’t know. That’s going to be for some economist to tell, and I’ll be involved in that decision, too. But it is a big market share, there’s no doubt about that. It could be a problem.”
Paramount said its decision to go hostile came after it made several earlier bids that Warner management “never engaged meaningfully” with following the company’s October announcement that it was open to selling itself.
Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California.Credit: Bloomberg
In its appeal to shareholders, Paramount noted its offer also contained $US18 billion more cash than Netflix’s bid, and argued that it was more likely to pass antitrust scrutiny from the Trump administration.
Paramount would also buy Warner Bros’ cable networks CNN and Discovery – assets Netflix did not want, and which were not part of its offer.
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The offer says 100 per cent of the $US40.7 billion in required equity capital is backstopped by the Ellison family – “one of the wealthiest families in the world” – and RedBird Capital, a part-owner of Paramount Skydance.
The Ellison family is close to Trump, particularly patriarch mega-billionaire Larry Ellison, the founder of tech firm Oracle and a Republican mega-donor. He was at one point the world’s richest man.
Paramount agreed to pay Trump $US16 million this year over a 2024 interview with then vice president Kamala Harris on the program 60 Minutes – carried by its network CBS – which Trump sued over, claiming the package was misleadingly edited.
Weeks later, the federal communications regulator approved an $US8 billion merger between Paramount and Skydance.
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The bid for Warner Bros comes on the heels of Paramount’s October purchase of the news and commentary website The Free Press. Paramount then installed the site’s founder, Bari Weiss, as the editor-in-chief of CBS News, saying it believes the country longs for news that is balanced and fact-based.
More to come
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