Paramount goes hostile in bid for Warner Bros.

NEW YORK — Paramount has gone hostile in its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, challenging Netflix which reached a $72 billion takeover deal with the company just days ago. Paramount said Monday that it is going straight to Warner Bros. shareholders with a bid worth about $74.4 billion, or $30 per share in cash. Paramount, unlike Netflix, is also offering to buy the cable assets of Warner Bros., and asking shareholders of the company to reject the Netflix bid. It said its offer is worth about $18 billion more than the competing bid from Netflix, which it says is based on an "illusory prospective valuation" of those cable assets. It is the same bid that Warner Brothers rejected in favor of the offer from Netflix in a merger that would alter the U.S. entertainment landscape. 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 Warner Bros. Discovery 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," On Friday Netflix struck a deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, the Hollywood giant behind "Harry Potter" and HBO Max. The cash and stock deal is valued at $27.75 per Warner share, giving it a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, including debt. The transaction is expected to close in the next 12 to 18 months, after Warner completes its previously announced separation of its cable operations. Not included in the deal are networks such as CNN and Discovery. But President Donald Trump said Sunday that the deal struck by Netflix to buy Warner Bros. Discovery "could be a problem" because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president said he will be involved in the decision about whether the federal government should approve the $72 billion deal. Usha Haley, a Wichita State University professor who specializes in international business strategy, said that Paramount's ties to President Donald Trump are notable. Paramount CEO David Ellison is the son of longtime Trump supporter Larry Ellison, the world's second-richest person. "He said he's going to be involved in the decision we should take him at face value," Haley said of Trump. "For him, it's just greater control over the media." In October, Paramount said it had bought the news and commentary website The Free Press and installed its 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. It was a bold step for the television network of Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather and "60 Minutes," long viewed by many conservatives as the personification of a liberal media establishment. The network placed someone in a leadership role who has developed a reputation for resisting orthodoxy and fighting "woke" culture. Paramount's tender offer is set to expire on Jan. 8, 2026, unless it's extended. Shares of Warner Bros. and Paramount jumped between 5% and 6% at the opening bell Monday. Shares of Netflix edged lower. ____ AP National Writer Matt Sedensky and AP Media Writer David Bauder contributed to this story.