Netflix declines to raise offer after Paramount’s ‘superior’ bid for WBD
Netflix has announced it will not increase its offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.
Earlier this week, WBD said in a press release that it had received a revised offer from Paramount Skydance that it determined was “superior” to Netflix’s existing deal, triggering a four-business-day window for Netflix to match or improve its bid.
The move means WWE’s streaming partner Netflix is out of the running to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns a 10 percent stake in All Elite Wrestling and airs its programming.
In a press release issued Thursday, Netflix confirmed it is declining to raise its offer, with co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters stating:
“The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval. However, 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.
Warner Bros. is a world-class organization, and we want to thank David Zaslav, Gunnar Wiedenfels, Bruce Campbell, Brad Singer and the WBD Board for running a fair and rigorous process. We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.’ iconic brands, and that our deal would have strengthened the entertainment industry and preserved and created more production jobs in the U.S. But this transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price.
Netflix’s business is healthy, strong and growing organically, powered by our slate and best-in-class streaming service. This year, we’ll invest approximately $20 billion in quality films and series and will expand our entertainment offering. Consistent with our capital allocation policy, we’ll also resume our share repurchase program.
We will continue to do what we’ve done for more than 20 years as a public company: delight our members, profitably grow our business, and drive long-term shareholder value.“
The full Netflix press release is available here.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.