The Paramount company criticized in a letter the purchase process of the Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) empire, alleging impartiality treatment for trying to favor its biggest competitor, the entertainment giant Netflix.
Lawyers for the media conglomerate accused WBD of “having abandoned the appearance and reality of a fair transaction process, thereby abdicating its obligations to shareholders and embarking on a short-sighted process with a predetermined outcome that favors a single bidder,” according to a copy of the brief seen by CNBC.
Paramount’s letter mentions reports that WBD management appears to favor Netflix’s offer, according to the US media.
For their part, company representatives responded to Paramount by deflecting concerns: “WBD attends to its fiduciary obligations with the utmost care, and has fully and rigorously complied with them and will continue to do so,” according to the document obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.
More information: Paramount, Comcast and Netflix present offers for Warner Bros. Discovery
Both Paramount, Netflix and the television company Comcast have made economic offers for all or part of WBD, owner of HBO, HBO Max, CNN, TBS, HGTV and other channels.
Paramount is the only agent, for the moment, that wants to acquire the entire WBD portfolio, while Comcast and Netflix would only be interested in the studios and streaming businesses, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Last October, the company rejected three proposals from Paramount Skydance to buy WBD. The last one was about $24 a share and was 80% cash.
Warner Bros. Discovery announced it will consider proposals to sell Warner Bros. (HBO Max and its studios) separately from Discovery Global, the television-focused company.
This purchase process coincides with the plan that has already been launched to divide Warner Bros. Discovery into two companies by April 2026.
With information from EFE
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