Paramount Skydance will acquire Warner Bros Discovery in a $110 billion (€93 billion) transaction, ending a high-stakes bidding war after Netflix declined to match Paramount’s latest offer, the companies said. The deal, with an equity value of about $81 billion, is slated to close in the third quarter of 2026, pending regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.
Reuters first reported that a deal had been reached, citing an audio clip from a global town hall. Shares of Paramount rose about 1% in extended trading, while Warner Bros Discovery and Netflix were little changed.
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The acquisition will be financed by $47 billion in equity from the Ellison Family and RedBird Capital Partners and backed by $54 billion in committed debt financing from Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo, according to the companies. Paramount also plans a rights offering of up to $3.25 billion of Class B stock for existing shareholders.
Paramount and Warner Bros said they expect more than $6 billion in cost savings, driven by technology integration, corporate efficiencies and streamlined operations. The combined studio will control a film and TV library exceeding 15,000 titles and a roster of globally recognized franchises, including Game of Thrones, Mission: Impossible, Harry Potter and the DC Universe, as well as The Matrix and Fantastic Beasts.
The merger is poised to reshape the Hollywood landscape and accelerate Paramount’s streaming strategy. A potential combination of HBO Max and Paramount+ would provide greater scale to compete for subscribers, content and advertising against market leader Netflix and other major platforms.
The path to completion faces regulatory scrutiny in the United States. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the state has opened an investigation and will be “vigorous” in its review. In Europe, however, the companies are expected to win antitrust approval with minimal remedies, according to Reuters reporting, easing one of the larger global hurdles.
Thursday’s breakthrough followed months of maneuvering. Netflix, which had struck an earlier agreement to buy Warner Bros Discovery’s studio and streaming assets at $27.75 per share, declined to match Paramount’s latest $31-per-share bid, which Warner Bros deemed superior. Paramount had pursued Warner Bros since late last year, repeatedly sweetening its offer and raising the cash component to draw Warner’s board back to the table.
As part of its revised bid, Paramount increased the termination fee it would pay if the deal were blocked by regulators to $7 billion, up from $5.8 billion. Netflix said in a regulatory filing that Paramount paid the $2.8 billion termination fee Warner Bros owed to unwind its agreement with the streaming giant.
The merger has stirred concerns from Washington to Hollywood Boulevard. Lawmakers from both parties warned that further consolidation among major studios could limit consumer choice and lead to higher prices. Cinema operators said a tie-up of two Hollywood powerhouses risked job losses and a thinner theatrical slate, even as the companies argue the combined venture will invest more efficiently in production and distribution.
Activist investor Ancora Holdings, a minority shareholder in Warner Bros Discovery, had pressed the company to engage more substantively with Paramount in recent weeks. With the deal now signed, executives will turn to integration planning and regulatory engagement, while Wall Street scrutinizes how quickly the combined studio can realize synergies, rationalize overlapping operations and knit together two complex streaming ecosystems.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
