Paramount Skydance emerged as the winner in a months-long battle to acquire Warner Bros Discovery after streaming giant Netflix on Thursday refused to raise its bid for the storied Hollywood studio.
The decision was confirmed by Netflix co-chief executives Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, who said the company would maintain a disciplined investment strategy and would not pursue the acquisition at any cost.
"We've always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance's latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid," Netflix said in a statement.
The withdrawal means Paramount Global is now positioned as the main bidder for Warner Bros. Discovery, though the deal will still require approval from U.S. regulators before completion.
"Once our board votes to adopt the Paramount merger agreement, it will create tremendous value for our shareholders," Warner CEO David Zaslav said in a statement.
"We are excited about the potential of a combined Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery and can’t wait to get started working together telling the stories that move the world," Zaslav added.
The proposed acquisition would combine Warner Bros. Discovery’s film and television studios, streaming operations including HBO Max and HBO, and media networks such as CNN and CBS News.
The merger will be subject to U.S. antitrust review. Some lawmakers and industry groups have warned that further consolidation among major Hollywood studios could weaken competition in the entertainment sector.
Paramount’s consortium has secured financing commitments, including about $45.7 billion in equity backing linked to investment structures associated with technology billionaire Larry Ellison.
The proposal also includes a potential $7 billion termination fee if the transaction is blocked due to regulatory rejection.
The auction attracted political and regulatory scrutiny due to the scale of the companies involved.
U.S. President Donald Trump had previously commented on some Warner Bros. assets, including suggesting that CNN could be sold during any corporate restructuring. However, there is no confirmed evidence that political pressure directly influenced the bidding outcome.
Netflix’s decision followed investor concerns and share price volatility since it first emerged as the leading bidder in December 2025 with a proposal valued at about $82.7 billion.
Netflix’s original proposal targeted selected Warner assets, including film studios and streaming operations, at about $27.75 per share.
Paramount later increased its all-cash offer to $31 per share, which the Warner Bros. Discovery board described as the superior bid.
If approved, the merger would give Paramount control of a broad entertainment and news portfolio spanning film libraries, television channels and streaming platforms.
The regulatory review process is expected to take several months. Executives at Warner Bros. Discovery have said the combination could create shareholder value if completed.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran to expect further strikes on Saturday (7 March). In a post on social media, he said Iran would be '...
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U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran to expect further strikes on Saturday (7 March). In a post on social media, he said Iran would be 'hit very hard'. His comments came a week into the conflict with Iran, which has spread across the Middle East.
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened further attacks on Iran on Saturday (7 March), while the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia continued to shoot down missiles in their airspace. Meanwhile, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran would stop attacking its neighbours.
Russian attacks on Ukraine’s second largest city in the early hours of Saturday (7 March) killed 10 people, including two children. Kharkiv mayor, Ihor Terekov, said 10 residents died after a Russian ballistic missile hit a five storey apartment block in the city.
Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport came under attack in heavy airstrikes on early Saturday morning (7 March), Iranian news agencies reported.
Officials in Azerbaijan have said they have stopped terror attacks in Azerbaijan including on an Israeli Embassy, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and a Synagogue. Tensions between regional and global powers escalate. Military activity, security alerts and travel disruptions continue.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran to expect further strikes on Saturday (7 March). In a post on social media, he said Iran would be 'hit very hard'. His comments came a week into the conflict with Iran, which has spread across the Middle East.
Lebanon's Hezbollah warned Israeli residents to evacuate towns within 5 km (3.11 miles) of the border between the countries in a message posted on its Telegram channel in Hebrew early on Friday.
The Israeli military says it has destroyed an underground bunker beneath Iran’s leadership complex in Tehran that it claims was built for former supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
The Azerbaijani State Security Service has said it has stopped Iran committing terror attacks against four targets in the country: Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the Israeli Embassy in Azerbaijan, a leader of the Mountain Jews religious community and the "Ashkenazi" synagogue.
Global financial markets remained on edge on Friday as the escalating war involving the United States, Israel and Iran continued to rattle investors, fuelling volatility in stocks and sending energy prices sharply higher.
China’s top leadership has unveiled a new push to turn advanced technologies into large-scale industrial priorities as part of the country’s upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan, which will guide economic and social development from 2026 to 2030.
The European Commission sees no immediate impact on the European Union's security of oil supply from the escalating conflict in the Middle East, it said in an email to EU governments, seen by Reuters on Monday (2 March).
Global debt surged to a record $348.3 trillion at the end of 2025, after nearly $29 trillion was added over the year, marking the fastest annual increase since the pandemic, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF) report released on Wednesday.
Millions of Colombian roses have arrived in the United States just in time for Valentine’s Day, keeping the country on track as the world’s second-largest flower exporter. Between 15 January and 9 February, Colombia shipped roughly 65,000 tons of fresh-cut blooms.
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