Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly now mulling Paramount’s offers

The news comes after Paramount sweetened its offer yet again last week. (The ninth(?) time is the charm, we guess.) The CBS News owner is still offering $30 per share for Warner Bros. Discovery, but has added a 25¢ per share “ticking fee,” which would be paid to shareholders for each quarter its transaction has not closed beyond December 31, 2026, which Bloomberg notes is a point toward Paramount’s confidence that it could get regulatory approval for the deal. Deadline estimates this would equal about $650 million per quarter, and Bloomberg also reports that WBD had been getting some pressure from some shareholders to at least consider Paramount’s offer. Paramount would also pay Netflix a $2.8 billion termination fee, which was a previous sticking point in the negotiations.  

The regulatory approval process could also end up being a headache for Netflix, especially, compared to Paramount, which seems be (to at least occasionally) on good terms with the Trump regime. Earlier this month, an anti-trust hearing about the prospective sale of Warner Bros. to Netflix was more or less derailed thanks to accusations of Netflix being “overwhelmingly woke.” Those talking points came from a MAGA, Project 2025, and Heritage Foundation-linked group and were delivered by Republican senators Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt.