Warner Bros set to say no beefed-up Paramount provide

Warner Bros Discovery is reportedly preparing to reject Paramount Skydance’s beefed up £81bn takeover bid next week.

Paramount is trying to gatecrash a deal which will see the bulk of the business sold to streaming giant Netflix for £62bn – in a takeover tussle which has gripped Hollywood.

And last month (DEC) billionaire Larry Ellison, whose family controls Paramount, provided a £30billion guarantee to back the offer.

However, days later prominent shareholder Harris Oakmark, which owns about 4 per cent of Warner, said the move was ‘necessary but not sufficient’ and that Paramount must raise its bid.

Hollywood drama: Paramount is trying to gatecrash the Netflix deal for Warner Bros

Now, reports suggest that Warner is set to reject the bid when its board meets next week. Warner Bros and Paramount both declined to comment.

That decision would ease the way for Netflix to proceed with its takeover.

While lower in headline value, analysts have said it offers a clearer financing structure and fewer execution risks.

However, Paramount has argued its bid would face fewer regulatory obstacles.

Adding a further twist, Larry Ellison is seen as close to Donald Trump’s White House – and the president has signalled that he will be involved in the decision on whether to allow a deal.

Winning the battle for century-old Warner Bros would grant control of its vast back catalogue of films from Casablanca to Harry Potter as well as TV titles such as The Sopranos and Game of Thrones from TV and streaming brand HBO.

A Netflix triumph would cement the dominant position in streaming for the company behind worldwide hits including Bridgerton and Squid Game – and would be likely to face close scrutiny from competition regulators as a result.

It has also raised concerns over the future of cinema – though Netflix boss Ted Sarandos has said it would honour commitments to show Warner Bros pictures on the big screen first.

A victory for Paramount, best known for films such as The Godfather and Mission: Impossible, would combine two Hollywood giants to create a studio bigger than current leader Disney.

It would also bring together two major US TV operators, something that would also attract a high degree of scrutiny. A group of Democratic senators said it would give one company control over ‘almost everything Americans watch on TV’.