Warner Bros rejects Paramount's revised offer, but gives studio a week to negotiate better deal

By Milana Vinn and Dawn Kopecki

Feb 17 - Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has rejected Paramount Skydance's (PSKY) latest $30-a-share hostile takeover bid, but is giving the Hollywood workplace 7 days to spot if it tin travel up with a amended woody to bargain the proprietor of HBO Max and the "Harry Potter" franchise, Warner Bros said successful a statement.

Paramount informally broached an ‌even higher stock price, $31 a share, Warner Bros said, seemingly enticing the committee to the table.

The rival bidder present has until February 23 to taxable its "best and last offer," which Netflix (NFLX) ‌is allowed to lucifer nether the presumption of the merger agreement, Warner Bros said connected Tuesday.

"To beryllium clear, our Board has not determined that your connection is reasonably apt to effect successful a transaction that is superior to the Netflix merger," Warner Bros ​Chairman Samuel DiPiazza Jr. and CEO David Zaslav said successful a missive sent Tuesday to the Paramount board. "We proceed to urge and stay afloat committed to our transaction with Netflix."

An unidentified Paramount fiscal advisor said their connection would beryllium raised to $31 a stock if Warner Bros agreed to unfastened negotiations, and they could spell adjacent higher, Warner Bros said successful the letter, adding that it present expects a champion and last connection to see a terms supra that amount.

Paramount's existent connection for the full institution comes to $108.4 billion, portion Netflix is offering $82.7 cardinal conscionable for its workplace and streaming businesses.

Warner Bros, which has repeatedly rejected Paramount's offers to bargain the full company, ‌is moving guardant with a ballot connected Netflix's $27.75 a stock bid for ⁠its workplace and streaming services. Shareholders volition ballot March 20 connected the Netflix merger, which would instrumentality spot aft Warner Bros spins disconnected its Discovery Global cablegram operations, which see CNN, TLC, Food Network and HGTV, into a separate, publically traded company.

Discovery Global could fetch betwixt $1.33 per stock and $6.86 a share, according to Warner Bros estimates.

Warner ⁠Bros' determination to prosecute with Paramount, which required a peculiar waiver from Netflix, marks a displacement for the studio.

Paramount antecedently said the committee "never meaningfully engaged" with them connected six antithetic offers executives made successful the 12 weeks earlier Warner Bros announced the merger statement with Netflix connected December 5. A nationalist hostile bid Paramount launched days aboriginal was rejected aboriginal that month.

Paramount's revised offer, which included a idiosyncratic warrant connected $40 cardinal successful equity from Oracle laminitis Larry Ellison, begetter to Paramount CEO ​David ​Ellison, was turned down successful aboriginal January.