Paramount acquires Warner Bros. in US$110 billion mega-merger
NEW YORK, United States (AFP)—Paramount Skydance announced Thursday it will acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal valuing the combined company at US$110 billion, after beating Netflix in a bruising bidding war.
The agreement ends a five-month bidding saga and creates an entertainment behemoth whose impact on a struggling media landscape — and connections to Donald Trump’s White House — will be closely scrutinized.
The merged entity will include CNN, HBO and Nickelodeon as well as some of Hollywood’s most valuable franchises, including Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, the DC Universe, Mission Impossible and SpongeBob SquarePants.
Under the terms of the agreement, Paramount will pay $31.00 per share in cash for all outstanding Warner Bros. Discovery shares, implying an equity value of $81 billion — and $110 billion when including the debt Paramount will take on.
The transaction has been unanimously approved by both companies’ boards and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, the companies said.
“Our pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery has been guided by a clear purpose: to honor the legacy of two iconic companies while accelerating our vision of building a next-generation media and entertainment company,” said Paramount Chairman and CEO David Ellison.
The deal closes a saga that ended Thursday when Netflix walked away, unwilling to match Paramount’s latest offer.
Questions now pivot to the Ellison family, which will control a constellation of media properties spanning the globe.
Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison is the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison and largely financed his son’s takeover of Paramount and his subsequent bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
Larry Ellison is also a longtime ally of President Trump. Both Paramount and Netflix have sought to curry favor with the White House, with Paramount winning out.
The Paramount offer includes financing from three Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds — those of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi — which could attract regulatory scrutiny.
Paramount has also offered a $7 billion regulatory termination fee should the deal fail to close on regulatory grounds, and has covered the $2.8 billion breakup fee Warner Bros. owed Netflix when it walked away from their agreement.
