It has become obvious that if Paramount Skydance (PSKY) is to win its bidding war with Netflix (NFLX) over Warner Bros. Discovery, it has to offer something more than just the personal guarantees from Larry Ellison, who is the “benefactor-in-chief” behind Paramount Skydance.
This need for an upgraded offer was put forth by Warner Bros’ 5th largest shareholder, Harris Associates. Alex Fitch, the Harris Associates portfolio manager, has made it clear that the amended bid put forth by Paramount Skydance will not be enough to thwart Netflix’s offer in the bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery. Industry experts view Fitch’s stance as a “holdout” strategy in the bidding war.
Even though the amendment in Paramount Skydance’s bid strategy was a necessary factor, it is still not enough to satisfy the technical needs of Warner Bros.’ demands. However, post the amendment, Fitch now views both deals as equal. But if Paramount is to gain an upper hand in the bid, it must account for the costs involved in switching paths, according to Fitch.
As of late 2025, WBD is owned by 5 major institutional investors. This includes Vanguard Group: 11.35%, BlackRock, Inc.: 7.45%, State Street Global Advisors: 6.39%, Advance Publications (Newhouse Family): 3.96%, and Harris Associates L.P. (Oakmark): 3.87%.
The Bidding War: Netflix’s Offer
The bidding war has become the talk of Wall Street as two competing visions have risen up regarding the acquisition. While Netflix plans on a passive, partial acquisition, Paramount’s strategy relies on a full-scale takeover.
Netflix has put up a bid worth $82.7 billion, while Paramount’s offer is bigger at $108.4 billion, but carries more demanding requirements. According to Netflix’s offer, Netflix would acquire the Warner Bros. film and TV studios, HBO, and HBO Max. However, for WBD to take off with this deal, they have to make a spin-off from its cable networks (CNN, TNT, TBS, etc.) into a new standalone company called Discovery Global, which is currently expected in Q3 2026.
The WBD board collectively supports the deal offered by Netflix, giving it a distinct advantage over Paramount. The board’s decision to favor the Netflix bid stems from a lower regulatory risk and more secure financing compared to earlier Paramount offers.
The Bidding War: Paramount’s Offer
Paramount’s offer is led by David Ellison and backed by his father, Larry Ellison. The deal put forth a hostile tender offer on December 8th, 2025. This offer was put in front of the WBD board exclusively. This was because the WBD board had initially rejected the advances of Paramount Skydance.
This offer, priced at a whopping $108.4 billion, includes buying 100% of WBD shares. This includes WBD’s cable networks and the studio/streaming assets Netflix is targeting. While Netflix’s offer is valued at $27.75 per share with $23.25 in cash and $4.50 in Netflix stock, Paramount has offered a full cash settlement at $30.00 flat per share.
Larry Ellison had put forth a personal guarantee of $40.4 billion in equity to cool down the WBD board after they had deemed the offer from Paramount as “ïllusory” and “opaque.”
While the WBD board is skeptical of the deal, Paramount Skydance says its offering is a solid deal that does not require WBD to split up into two companies just to facilitate the Netflix acquisition.
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The Present Status of The Acquisition Battle
The deal, as of 24th December, appears to be a toss-up for many of the investors tied to WBD. As the deadline for the deal’s finalization is nearing (January 21, 2026), the board can go in two directions: to go with the board-approved deal offered by Netflix or to let Paramount Skydance make a full-scale acquisition.
Regulatory hurdles are the second problem with executing the deal smoothly. Since both deals face intense scrutiny, it has become obvious that making a final decision may take up the full duration until the deadline. With Netflix’s deal, there is the problem of losing 43% of global streaming subscribers. Paramount’s deal, on the other hand, comes with the problem of combining CNN and CBS News under one family’s control.
Shareholders think that Paramount’s offer is still inadequate and must go higher to $33 per share. Important shareholder representatives like Fitch share this thought because they think that it is a fair deal price to offset the costs of breaking the existing Netflix agreement.
