Paramount Ups Warner Bros. Bid With Trump Son-in-Law at Side


The fight over the future of Hollywood just got nastier.

Paramount Skydance Corp. launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. at $30 a share in cash on Monday, just days after the company agreed to a deal with Netflix Inc. The offer values Warner Bros. at $108.4 billion, including debt.

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The bid compares with Netflix’s offer of $27.75 in cash and stock, for an enterprise value of about $82.7 billion including debt. Paramount’s offer is for all of Warner Bros., while Netflix is interested only in the Hollywood studios, HBO and the streaming business.

Paramount Chief Executive Officer David Ellison has touted his family’s good relations with President Donald Trump. The president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is participating in the Paramount bid through his Affinity Partners, according to financing terms unveiled Monday. Trump, who indicated that he will be involved in approval of a Warner Bros. sale, said he hasn’t discussed the topic with Kushner.

Warner Bros. investors “deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer for their shares in the entire company,” Ellison said in a statement.

WATCH: Paul Hardart, Program Director at the NYU Stern School of Business’s Entertainment, Media & Tech Program, shares his views on who stands to benefit the most from a possible deal with Warner Bros Discovery.Source: Bloomberg
WATCH: Paul Hardart, Program Director at the NYU Stern School of Business’s Entertainment, Media & Tech Program, shares his views on who stands to benefit the most from a possible deal with Warner Bros Discovery.Source: Bloomberg

The battle between Netflix and Paramount stands to reshape the entertainment industry regardless of who wins. With Warner Bros. films and TV shows, Netflix would wield tremendous new power over the content offered to online audiences. Paramount aims to marry two legacy Hollywood studios to counter the influence of Netflix, Walt Disney Co. and Amazon.com Inc.

Both bids raise significant antitrust concerns, underscored by multibillion-dollar breakup fees the parties have offered, and both companies have been laying the groundwork to win over the White House.

Warner Bros. will “carefully review and consider Paramount Skydance’s offer,” according to a statement Monday. The board isn’t modifying its recommendation regarding the Netflix bid, which it approved last week. Warner Bros. said it aims to advise stockholders on the board’s recommendation for the Paramount offer within 10 business days.

Paramount, the parent of CBS, MTV and other media businesses, instigated the battle several months ago when it made multiple offers for Warner Bros. The company decided to put itself up for sale in October and received several rounds of bids, including from Netflix and Comcast Corp.



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