Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) board of directors has rejected the $108 billion hostile takeover bid from David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance, calling the offer “illusory,” and saying that Paramount had misled shareholders about its financing.
Saying it wants to honor its initial agreement to sell to Netflix, WBD’s board wrote in a letter to shareholders that Paramount “has consistently misled WBD shareholders that its proposed transaction has a ‘full backstop’ from the Ellison family.”
“It does not, and never has,” the letter reads.
WBD’s board said Paramount’s tender offer remains “inferior to the Netflix merger” and noted that Netflix’s $27.75-per-share offer for Warner Bros’ Hollywood studios and streaming business “is a binding agreement with enforceable commitments, with no need for any equity financing and robust debt commitments.”
Netflix welcomed the move. “The Warner Bros. Discovery board reinforced that Netflix’s merger agreement is superior and that our acquisition is in the best interests of stockholders,” said Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos in a statement.
Paramount and Ellison’s backers, including his father, tech billionaire Larry Ellison, will review WBD’s rejection and determine whether to raise their offer, Variety reports.
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