Paramount Skydance discussed its $108 billion hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery with French President Emmanuel Macron this week, as the company seeks support from European officials, it was reported. Bloomberg on Thursday, after Paramount said it would launch a proxy fight to prevent a merger with Netflix.
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Top Paramount executives held talks with Macron and other top French officials in recent days to discuss the offer, reported Bloombergciting people familiar with the matter.
The company met with UK officials in London on Thursday, while other meetings with the European Commission also reportedly took place this week, as both Paramount and Netflix will face regulatory scrutiny in the United States and by the European Commission once a deal is finalized.
Warner Bros. Discovery urged its shareholders to reject Paramount’s offer for the second time earlier this month, stating that Paramount’s proposal “remains inadequate.”
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The Delaware Court of Chancery on Thursday rejected Paramount’s demand that Warner Bros. Discovery better explain why Netflix’s nearly $83 billion acquisition was more attractive than its own, according to court documents. Warner Bros. Discovery, in a statement to Reuterscalled Paramount’s lawsuit “another unserious attempt to distract, and the judge clearly saw that,” though Paramount indicated it will continue to press Warner Bros. Discovery for more information.
What to observe
Paramount CEO David Ellison — son of billionaire Larry Ellison, chairman of Oracle — announced Tuesday that the company will launch a proxy fight to block Netflix’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. Ellison said Paramount will nominate a “slate of directors” during Warner Bros. Discovery’s annual meeting later this year who would push Paramount’s bid, arguing that Warner’s board “has derelict its duty” by recommending shareholders approve the acquisition by Netflix.
Key context
Tensions have escalated in recent weeks as Paramount pursues a hostile takeover. A deal was closed in December for Warner to sell its studios to Netflix for about $83 billion, and the company has reiterated on several occasions that Paramount’s offer of $30 per share was “inferior” to Netflix’s. Paramount’s proposal was reviewed by Warner, whose board said it offered “inadequate” value and imposed “numerous significant risks and costs,” according to board chairman Samuel DiPiazza, while Netflix offered a “clear path to completing” the deal with regulators. Warner also questioned whether Larry Ellison — the fifth-richest person in the world, with an estimated fortune of $241.6 billion — would back Paramount’s bid. In an amended offer last month, Paramount revealed that Larry Ellison agreed to provide an “irrevocable personal guarantee” for $40.4 billion and said it would pay Warner $5.8 billion if the transaction did not go through.
This article was originally published on Forbes US
