According to people familiar with the matter, Warner Bros. Discovery has launched a second round of bidding, in which Netflix’s offer is mainly cash. The auction could end in the coming days or weeks. Banking teams from Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix have submitted revised offers with better conditions to acquire all or part of Warner Bros.'s assets.
While Paramount's offer is primarily backed by the family of Oracle Corp. co-founder Larry Ellison, it also includes debt financing from Apollo Global Management. Middle Eastern funds also participated in the bid.
The offer is legally binding, meaning the board can quickly approve the deal if conditions meet the company's goals, people familiar with the matter said. However, the company has not yet characterized the latest offer as a final plan, and it may still be considered if a better offer appears later.
Another person familiar with the matter said that the streaming industry leaderNetflixarePreparing bridging loans totaling tens of billions of dollars.
It is reported that Warner Bros.'s psychological price is $30 per share, a figure that the company's honorary chairman John Malone has previously said is "possible to achieve." The company's shares closed at $23.87 in New York on Monday, corresponding to a market value of approximately $59 billion.
The parent company, which owns HBO, CNN and the film company of the same name, officially launched the sale process after receiving multiple unsolicited offers for all or parts of it in October. Paramount, currently run by tech heir David Ellison, was the first to make three overall acquisition proposals, including acquiring its cable network assets.
Comcast and Netflix are only interested in Warner Bros. Pictures and HBO Max streaming services. If either bidder is successful, Warner Bros. will move forward with plans to spin off its cable channels into Discovery Global. The spin-off is likely to be completed by the middle of next year.