It Looks Like Warner Bros. Is About to Have a New Owner—And It's Not Netflix
After Netflix announced its intent to acquire Warner Bros., the newly formed Paramount Skydance said, "Not so fast." Paramount attempted a hostile takeover of the iconic Hollywood studio, leading to an intense bidding war.
As of Feb. 17, it looked like Netflix was still going to end up winning. While Warner Bros. Discovery's board agreed to enter talks with Paramount, they “continue[d] to unanimously recommend in favor of the Netflix merger,” reported Variety.
But as anyone who's watched Love Is Blind knows, everything can change in 10 days. Now, the path is clear for Paramount's hostile takeover to succeed.
Netflix Withdraws Bid for Warner Bros.
After weeks of back and forth bids, Netflix finally decided it was no longer worth it. After Paramount outbid them, Netflix declined to raise them and instead threw in the towel, stating that "the deal is no longer financially attractive," reports BBC. "This transaction was always a 'nice to have' at the right price, not a 'must have' at any price," the company's co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said.
The proposed Netflix merger drew huge criticism from consumers, regulators, and entertainers alike. In a Feb. 3 congressional hearing, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah raised concerns that the deal could have formed a monopoly in the market considering that both operate their own studios and have their own vertically integrated streaming platforms. Sen. Cory Booker also feared that reducing the number of studios through mega-mergers would reduce the amount of content produced, thus hurting industry workers.
A proposed Paramount deal will surely draw similar scrutiny. Crime 101 star Mark Ruffalo has already spoken out against it, claiming it would also create a "monopolization." Deadline reported on Feb. 22 that the Department of Justice was already looking into the deal, investigating similar antitrust concerns.
It's not all bad news for Netflix, though. They get a nice $2.8 billion break-up fee, per Deadline.