WBD Rejects Yet Another Paramount Skydance Takeover Attempt

Warner Bros. Discovery has once again rejected a takeover proposal from Paramount Skydance, shutting down the latest revised attempt to acquire the century-old media giant.

WBD’s board unanimously agreed that the updated offer still undervalued the company and carried too much financial and organizational risk, despite stronger assurances than the initial bid. The revised proposal reportedly raised the per-share cash price and included additional financing guarantees from Skydance chief David Ellison’s billionaire father and backer, Larry Ellison. Even so, Warner Bros. Discovery determined that the changes were insufficient to derail its already-agreed sale of key assets to Netflix.

According to reports, WBD viewed the Paramount Skydance proposal as too reliant on leverage, raising concerns about long-term bottom-line stability, regulatory challenges, and overall certainty that the deal would eventually be finalized. Those same issues led to the earlier rejection of earlier versions of the offer.

The latest decision reinforces WBD’s commitment to its current strategy, which centers on the Netflix deal for Warner Bros.’ film and TV studios, HBO, and HBO Max (WBD’s linear TV assets would not be part of the Netflix deal). Company executives have framed that deal as offering more obvious value and greater long-term certainty for shareholders than Paramount’s approach.

From the outside, the Paramount Skydance setback felt largely inevitable. It underscores how difficult it is to assemble a credible, debt-heavy acquisition in the current climate: Skydance only purchased Paramount a year ago, traditional entertainment companies are grappling with collapsing linear TV revenues, and the wider political and regulatory environment remains deeply unstable in the U.S.

For now, Warner Bros. Discovery soldiers on with the Netflix deal, while Paramount’s next move is unclear. Whether the Ellisons return with yet another revised proposal or step away remains to be seen, but with each rejection, Paramount Skydance’s credibility in the race appears to erode further.