Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said Paramount Skydance’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) was “totally expected,” but that his company remains “super confident” in closing the deal previously agreed with the entertainment giant.
Sarandos noted at a conference in New York organized by financial group UBS that there is “a done deal” that Netflix is “incredibly happy with.”
“It is excellent for shareholders, for consumers and for protecting jobs in the entertainment industry,” said the executive, who assured that Netflix is “super confident” in closing the agreement, according to local media.
Paramount’s offer, presented this Monday, amounts to $30 per share in cash, surpassing the $27.75 per share offered by Netflix, and values the company at around $108 billion, including debt.
WBD shares rose 4.4% today on Wall Street, Paramount shares rose 9%, and Netflix shares fell 3.4%.
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Sarandos highlighted that the Netflix operation has “a formal agreement” that was “approved by the boards of directors of both companies”, so “the transaction continues as planned.”
In addition, he stressed that the combination of Netflix and WBD guarantees “a more fluid integration of content and production capabilities, benefiting subscribers, creators and the industry in general.”
Paramount’s hostile offer, pending acceptance by WBD shareholders and US regulatory evaluations, is backed by Middle Eastern sovereign funds and the private firm of businessman Jared Kushner, former advisor and son-in-law of Donald Trump, specialized portals such as Deadline and Fortune stated today.
According to these media, the support of these funds guarantees that Paramount can “sustain a strong and fast proposal, in cash”, increasing pressure on Netflix.
Paramount said today that it approached shareholders with this hostile offer because WBD’s board of directors is “pursuing an inferior proposal” that would lead to “a complicated regulatory approval process.”
Paramount has offered to buy all of WBD, including the Warner Bros. film studio, the HBO Max streaming service and a portfolio of cable channels, including CNN.
Cable channels are not part of the agreement with Netflix.
With information from EFE.
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