Warner Bros gets a higher offer from Paramount in heated fight for the storied Hollywood studio

NEW YORK (AP) — Warner Bros. Discovery said that Paramount has raised the price of its takeover offer to $31 per share, potentially setting the stage for a fresh bidding war with Netflix over the future of the Hollywood giant.

Paramount’s offer had previously stood at $30 per share since December — when the Skydance owned company launched its hostile bid to challenge a deal Warner struck with Netflix to sell its studio and streaming business for $27.75 per share.

A Warner Bros. Discovery buyout would reshape Hollywood and the wider media landscape — bringing HBO Max, cult-favorite titles like “Harry Potter” and, depending on who wins the Netflix v. Paramount tug-of-war, potentially even CNN under a new roof.

Unlike Netflix, Paramount wants to acquire Warner Bros. in its entirety — including networks like CNN and Discovery. The companies have spent the last couple of months in a heated, public back and forth over who has a stronger deal. And Paramount upping its offer only adds to the pressure.

Beyond the new $31 per share price, Warner said Tuesday afternoon that Paramount had increased its regulatory termination fee to $7 billion. Paramount also agreed to move up a previously-promised “ticking fee.” The company previously said it would pay 25 cents per share for every quarter the deal drags on past the end of the year. Now it’s agreed to pay that amount if the deal doesn’t go through by the end of September, Warner said.

Warner added that Paramount’s latest bid “could reasonably be expected to lead to” a superior offer as defined under its current agreement with Netflix — but the company’s board has still not actually determined whether Paramount’s offer is better than Netflix’s.

A Netflix spokesperson declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press Tuesday afternoon. Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for further comment — but the company confirmed the submission of its revised offer earlier in the day.

Warner’s board has repeatedly backed its deal with Netflix, and on Tuesday maintained that their agreement still stands. But if it later deems Paramount’s offer to be the better deal, Netflix would then have four days to match or revise its proposal. It could also choose to walk away.

Lawmakers and entertainment trade groups have sounded the alarm about the prospect of both deals — warning that a buyout of all or parts of Warner’s business would only further consolidate power in an industry already run by just a few major players. Critics say that could result in job losses, less diversity in filmmaking and potentially more headaches for consumers who are facing rising costs of streaming subscriptions as is.

Combined, that raises tremendous antitrust concerns — and a Warner sale could come down to who gets the regulatory green light. The U.S. Department of Justice has already initiated reviews, and other countries are expected to do so.

Both Paramount and Netflix have argued that their proposals are good for consumers and the wider industry. And the companies have taken aim at each other publicly with regulatory arguments.

Paramount has pointed to Netflix’s much larger market value. And it’s argued that if the streaming giant acquires Warner, it would only give it more dominance in the subscription video on demand space. But Netflix is trying to convince regulators that it’s up against broader video libraries, particularly Google’s YouTube. Netflix has also said that since it doesn’t currently have the same studios and film distribution that Warner does, it would preserve and grow those operations — whereas a Warner-Paramount merger would combine two of Hollywood’s last five major studios, as well as theatrical channels and news networks.

Politics could also come into play. President Donald Trump previously made unprecedented suggestions about his involvement in seeing a deal through, before walking back those statements and maintaining that regulatory approval will be up to the Justice Department.

Trump has a close relationship with the billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison (the father of Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison) who is heavily backing Paramount’s bid to buy Warner. And the push to acquire Warner arrives just months after Skydance closed its own buyout of Paramount — in a contentious merger approved just weeks after the company agreed to pay the president $16 million to settle a lawsuit over editing at Paramount’s “60 Minutes” program on CBS. Under new ownership, CBS has seen significant editorial shifts, notably with the installation of Free Press founder Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News. Critics say similar changes could happen at Warner’s CNN if Paramount’s bid is successful.

But Trump has continued to publicly lash out at Paramount over editorial decisions at CBS’ “60 Minutes.” The president also previously met with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who he called a “fantastic man.” Still, he’s taken aim at Netflix in other ways — including demanding that the company fire former U.N. ambassador Susan Rice, who held top roles under both the Biden and Obama administrations, from Netflix’s board in a social media post over the weekend.

Rice was reappointed to Netflix’s board in 2023, after previously serving between 2018 and 2020. Trump’s calls for her firing arrived after comments she made on a podcast hosted by former federal prosecutor Preet Bharara. Rice said that things were “not going to end well” for corporations and others who decided to “take a knee to Trump,” arguing that Democrats would push for accountability if they regain power in coming elections.