Netflix walks away from Warner Bros bid, clearing path for Paramount

NEW YORK: Netflix said it would not raise its takeover offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, effectively ceding the media giant to a rival bid from Paramount Skydance after deciding the deal was no longer financially attractive.
The streaming giant's co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said they were 'declining to match' Paramount Skydance's latest offer after Warner Bros. Discovery's board declared it a 'Superior Proposal' under the terms of its existing merger agreement with Netflix.
The development will likely see the storied Hollywood studio and a group of TV properties that includes CNN fall into the hands of Paramount, reshaping US media.
Without a Netflix counteroffer, the Warner Bros. Discovery board is now free to terminate its agreement with the streaming giant and proceed with Paramount.
The sweetened offer, made Monday, was the latest installment of a bidding war that has drawn White House attention, with President Donald Trump insisting he had a say in the outcome.
The revised Paramount offer included a purchase price of $31.00 per share in cash, a one-dollar increase from its earlier bid, which valued the company at around $108 billion. — AFP