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Paramount Skydance on Monday made a $108.4 billion hostile takeover offer for all of Warner Bros. Discovery, with its all-cash bid coming just three days after Netflix agreed to buy a part of Warner Bros. in a deal valued at $82.7 billion.
Warner Bros. Discovery “shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer for their shares in the entire company,” Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison said in a statement.
“Our public offer, which is on the same terms we provided to the Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors in private, provides superior value, and a more certain and quicker path to completion,” he said.
Paramount Skydance is the parent company of CBS News.
The new offer steps up the battle over the future of Warner Bros. Discovery, which on Friday agreed to a deal with Netflix under which the streaming giant would acquire Warner’s streaming and movie assets. Warner Bros.’ storied film library includes classics like “Casablanca” and the “Harry Potter” film series.
Paramount Skydance said its offer is a better deal for Warner shareholders because it includes the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery, including its cable television channels such as CNN, TBS, TNT and The Food Network. The transaction would also have an easier path through the regulatory process than Netflix’s offer, according to Paramount.
“Paramount is highly confident in achieving expeditious regulatory clearance for its proposed offer, as it enhances competition and is pro-consumer, while creating a strong champion for creative talent and consumer choice,” the company said in a statement.
Some Wall Street analysts have said the Netflix-Warner Bros. combination could raise concerns among U.S. antitrust enforcers because of the streaming service’s size and the potential to reduce competition in the media space.
“Because Netflix is positioned as the largest streaming platform, the company’s acquisition of HBO Max services and customers raises red flags,” said Jeffrey May, managing editor for the Insights & Enrichment team within Wolters Kluwer Legal and Regulatory U.S., in an email.
May added, “Netflix and HBO Max compete for subscribers. Their combination could be seen as a threat to competition and innovation.”
Netflix didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The bidding war comes after Warner Bros. Discovery announced in June that it planned to split into two businesses, separating its cable networks such as CNN from its streaming and studios business, which includes HBO Max.
But in October, the media conglomerate said it had attracted interest from companies about buying all or parts of it outright, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that media and entertainment businesses, including Netflix, Paramount Skydance and Comcast, were pursuing a deal.
