David Ellison-led Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY) launched a hostile bid worth $108.4 billion for Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) on Monday, in a last-ditch effort to outbid streaming giant Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and create a content powerhouse. A regulatory filing on Monday revealed that the HBO owner’s lack of response fueled Paramount’s push.
Paramount said it made six proposals over twelve weeks, each increasing in value, culminating in the fully financed $30 per share offer. Despite this, Warner Bros. never engaged with Paramount and chose instead to commit to what the Comedy Central owner called “an obviously financially inferior transaction with extraordinary regulatory risk and a longer timeline to a possible closing.”
Here’s a timeline of events that led up to the all-cash offer that is about $18 billion higher than Netflix’s offer announced last Friday—
2023–2024: Paramount Global and Warner Bros. held periodic merger talks, but no deal was reached.
July 7, 2024: Paramount Global merged with Skydance, completed Aug. 7, 2025.
June 9, 2025: Warner Bros. announced plans to separate its cable networks by mid-2026.
Sept 11–22: Paramount pursued Warner Bros, but its initial $19/share offer was rejected.
Sept 27–Oct 8: Revised $22/share offer with 66.7% cash, co-CEO/co-Chair roles rejected.
Oct 9–13: Another $23.50/share offer from Paramount was rejected; Warner Bros. launched a multi-round sale process.
Nov 20–24: $25.50/share offer submitted; discussions on key terms took place
Nov 24–Dec 1: Paramount makes $26.50/share all-cash offer, fully backstopped $5B regulatory reverse termination fee.
Dec 3–4: Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav raised concerns about Paramount's equity financing and non-U.S. investors. Paramount finally submitted a $30/share all-cash offer; Ellison texted Zaslav: "Just tried calling you about new bid we have submitted. I heard you on all your concerns and believe we have addressed them in our new proposal. Please give me a call back when you can to discuss in detail." No response was received even after a follow-up.
Dec 5: Netflix and Warner Bros. announce $82.7 billion merger.
Dec 8: Ellison’s Paramount launches hostile bid
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