The Chisme About the Bidding War for Warner Bros. Discovery Is Rich With Telenovela-Level Drama
A merger between Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix was all but inevitable. However, Paramount Skydance had other plans. The traditional television media company is launching a hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, crafting a direct threat to Netflix’s deal. The whole situation feels messy when you consider what Paramount did just this year when things got a little too political on one show.
Paramount is trying to buy Warner Bros. Discovery and people aren’t happy about it
Netflix was poised to take ownership of Warner Bros. Discovery after outbidding multiple major media companies. With a proposal of $82.7 billion, Netflix seemed to secure its claim to the legacy media company. The announcement came as a sign of relief for many in Hollywood since it stopped David Ellison, who owns Paramount Skydance, from acquiring yet another media conglomerate.
Ellison, who offered a $108 billion all-cash bid, has significant and publicized connections with President Donald Trump. Observers see these ties as giving Ellison an advantage in securing regulatory approval for media acquisitions. Reports indicate that Ellison and Paramount are using this special connection to the president as leverage in negotiations.
President Trump hosted the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, DC, which the media mogul recently attended. Ellison has said publicly that he thinks that the Netflix offer to Warner Bros. Discovery is an “inferior proposal.”
“The Paramount offer for the entirety of WBD provides shareholders $18 billion more in cash than the Netflix consideration,” reads a statement from Paramount, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “WBD’s Board of Directors recommendation of the Netflix transaction over Paramount’s offer is based on an illusory prospective valuation of Global Networks that is unsupported by the business fundamentals and encumbered by high levels of financial leverage assigned to the entity.”
People are remembering how quickly Paramount bowed to President Trump
Paramount and Skydance needed the federal government’s approval for the merger that had Hollywood captivated. The merger was approved earlier this year at the same time that CBS, owned by Paramount, canceled “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Organizations and people spoke up against the appearance of censorship for approval of the merger.
“Given Paramount’s recent capitulation to President Trump in the CBS News lawsuit, the Writers Guild of America has significant concerns that The Late Show’s cancelation is a bribe, sacrificing free speech to curry favor with the Trump Administration as the company looks for merger approval,” read a statement from the Writers Guild of America (WGA). “Cancelations are part of the business, but a corporation terminating a show in bad faith due to explicit or implicit political pressure is dangerous and unacceptable in a democratic society.”
The latest move by Paramount Skydance is giving a lot of people more pause. There is a growing concern that Ellison owning more media conglomerates will be a further assault on democracy. After proving how easy it is to get Ellison-owned companies to answer to President Trump, free speech advocates worry that this Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger could further the president’s agenda.
Where is the money coming from? Jared Kushner and the Middle East
According to Deadline, the money being used for the hostile bid against Netflix for Warner Bros. Discovery has a lot of contributors. Sticking with the ongoing theme from the Trump family, Jared Kushner could benefit financially from Paramount buying Warner Bros. Discovery.
The outlet reported that the Public Investment Fund (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), L’imad Holding Company PJSC (Abu Dhabi), Qatar Investment Authority (Qatar) and Affinity Partners are behind the money funding the bid. Affinity Partners is the investment fund of Kushner.
President Trump has spoken up against Netflix and in favor of Paramount Skydance. The political meddling in private business is clear and evident. The president has a direct connection to the man behind the proposed hostile bid of $108 billion. Some of the money is allegedly coming from a member of the president’s family. Most of the extra funding is coming from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The whole deal just feels like the scene in an action thriller when the corrupt president over plays his hand. Will it matter? We will see. Is the evidence there that the hostile Paramount bid on Warner Bros. Discovery is not in good faith? Yes.
