Netflix has upgraded its $82.7bn (£61.5bn) offer for Warner Bros Discovery by making it an all-cash deal, aiming to speed up shareholder approval and block a hostile takeover bid from Paramount Skydance.
The revised proposal keeps the valuation at $27.75 per share but removes shares from the structure, giving investors greater certainty and potentially allowing a vote as early as April. Netflix said WBD shareholders would still receive shares in a spun-off global networks business, including CNN and Discovery Channel, which Netflix is not buying.
Paramount is continuing its $108.4bn hostile bid and has sought to challenge the Netflix deal through legal action and a potential proxy fight, though a Delaware judge has already rejected one lawsuit. WBD’s board continues to back Netflix’s offer, warning that switching deals would trigger billions of dollars in additional costs.
